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1 LIBRARY rtf CONGRESS 




Two Copies Received 


SEP 2 1904 



22.i<?o+ 


Ijrht Entrv 


LASS CL XXo. No. 


f 2 V- 77 


COPY 8 


COPYRIGHT, 1904 

By GINN & COMPANY 


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 


44-7 


C 


d)e &tl)cna“um J3rcfsis 

GINN & COMPANY-CAM- 
BRIDGE- MASSACHUSETTS 








PREFACE 


Under the assumed name of C. Collodi, Carlo 
Lorenzini is well known to the reading world of 
Italy. His most successful book, Pinocchio , was 
written for children, and has already become a 
classic. Of all the fairy stories of Italian litera¬ 
ture this is the best known and the best loved. 
The name of the marionette hero is familiar in 
every household of northern and central Italy. In 
its whimsical extravagance, its quaint humor, and 
its narrative style the story appeals strongly to 
both old and young. 

American children, who have long delighted in 
French and German fairy tales, and among whom 
Hans Christian Andersen is universally beloved, 
should not remain in ignorance of this Italian clas¬ 
sic. The Florentines call it a literary jewel, and as 
such it should be known to all young readers. In 
order to preserve the unique flavor of the story 

V 


VI 


PREFACE 


as much as possible the translator has followed the 
original rather closely. Pinocchio’s waywardness 
and love of mischief are fully set forth, and the 
moral, though sufficiently obvious, is not allowed to 
detract from the enjoyment of his adventures. 

The story is one that readily lends itself to the 
fertile fancy and skillful pencil of an able illustrator. 
In the present volume, as in the original, the pic¬ 
tures play an important part which is not likely to 
be overlooked by the readers for whom the book 
is designed. 




CHAPTER I 

Once upon a time there was — 

“ A king ? ” my little readers will immediately 
say. 

No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a 
time there was a piece of wood. It was not fine 
wood, but a simple piece of wood from the wood 
yard, — the kind we put in the stoves and fireplaces 
so as to make a fire and heat the rooms. 

I do not know how it happened, but one beau¬ 
tiful day a certain old woodcutter found a piece of 
this kind of wood in his shop. The name of the 
old man was Antonio, but everybody called him 
Master Cherry on account of the point of his nose, 
which was always shiny and purplish, just like a 
ripe cherry. 


i 


2 


PIN0CCHIO 


As soon as Master Cherry saw that piece of 
wood he was overjoyed; and rubbing his hands 
contentedly, he mumbled to himself, “This piece 
of wood has come in good time. I will make from 
it a table leg.” 

No sooner said than done. He quickly took a 
sharpened ax to raise the bark and shape the 
wood ; but when he was on the point of striking 
it he remained with his arm in the air, because he 
heard a tiny, thin little voice say, “ Do not strike 
so hard! ” 

Just imagine how surprised good old Master 
Cherry was! He turned his bewildered eyes 
around the room in order to see whence that little 
voice came ; but he saw no one. He looked under 
the bench, and no one; he looked in a sideboard 
which was always closed, and no one; he looked 
in the basket of chips and shavings, and no one; 
he opened the door in order to glance around his 
house, and no one. What then ? 

“ I understand,” he said, laughing and scratch¬ 
ing his wig; “ I imagined I heard that little voice. 
I will start to work again.” 

He took up the ax and again gave the piece of 
wood a hard blow. 

“ Oh ! you have hurt me ! ” cried the little voice, 
as if in pain. 



PIN0CCH10 


3 


This time Master Cherry became dumb, with 
his scared eyes nearly popping out of his head, 
with his mouth opened wide, and with his tongue 
hanging down on his chin, like a gorgon head on 
a fountain. 

As soon as he could speak he said, trembling 
and stammering from fright, “But where does 
that little voice come from that says ‘ Oh ’ ? There 
is nothing alive in this room. Can it be that this 
piece of wood has learned to cry and scream like 











4 


PINOCCHIO 


a baby ? I cannot believe it. This is an ordinary 
piece of wood for the fireplace, like all other pieces 
with which we boil a pot of beans. What next ? 
What if there may be some one hidden inside ? If 
there is, so much the worse for him. I will settle 
him.” And saying this, he seized with both hands 
that poor piece of wood and knocked it around 
without pity against the stone wall of the room. 

Then he stopped to listen, so as to hear if there 
was any voice that complained. He waited two 
minutes, and nothing; five minutes, and nothing ; 
ten minutes, and nothing. 

“ I understand,” he said, forcing a laugh and 
rubbing his wig; “ I imagined that I heard a voice 
cry ‘ Oh! ’ I will begin to work again.” And 
because he was somewhat frightened, he tried to 
hum an air so as to make himself courageous. 

Meanwhile he stopped working with the ax and 
took up a plane to make the wood even and clean ; 
but while he planed he heard again the little voice, 
this time in a laughing tone, “ Stop ! you are taking 
the skin off my body.” 

This time poor Master Cherry fell down as if 
shot. When he opened his eyes he found himself 
sitting on the ground. His face appeared trans¬ 
figured, and the end of his nose, which was always 
purple, became blue from great fear. 




CHAPTER II 

At this moment there was a knock at the door. 

“ Come in,” said the woodcutter, without having 
strength enough to arise. 

Then a lively old man called Geppetto entered 
the room. The boys in the neighborhood, when 
they wished to make him angry, called him Corn 
Meal, because his wig was of that color. Geppetto 
was very queer. Woe to any one who called him 
Corn Meal! He became suddenly like a beast and 
no one could hold him. 

“Good morning, Master Antonio,” said Gep¬ 
petto. “ What are you doing on the ground ? ” 

“ I am teaching the ants their A B C’s.” 

“ Much good that does ! ” 

“What has brought you here, brother Gep¬ 
petto ? ” 


5 



6 


PINOCCHIO 


“ My legs. Do you know, Master Antonio, that 
I have come to ask a favor of you ? ” 

“ Here I am, prompt to serve you ! ” replied the 
woodcutter, raising himself on his knees. 

“This morning I had an idea.’' 

“ Let me hear it.” 

“ I thought that I would make a pretty wooden 
marionette; I mean a wonderful marionette, one 
that can dance, walk, and jump. With this mario¬ 
nette I wish to travel through the world and earn for 
myself a little bread. What do you think of it ? ” 

“Very good, Corn Meal ! ” cried the same little 
hidden voice. 

On hearing himself called Corn Meal brother Gep- 
petto became as red as a pepper with rage, and turn¬ 
ing toward the woodcutter, said to him furiously, 
“ Why do you offend me ? ” 

“ Who has offended you ? ” 

“ You have called me Corn Meal.” 

“ I did not.” 

“ I say you did.” 

“ No” 

“ Yes.” 

“No.” 

“Yes.” 

And becoming more angry, they finally came 
to blows. They scratched, bit, and rumpled each 



PINOCCHIO 


7 


other, and seized each other by the hair. At the 
end of the struggle Master Antonio found in his 
hands the wig of Geppetto, and Geppetto noticed 
that he had the speckled wig of the woodcutter 
in his mouth ! “ Give me my wig ! ” cried Master 

Antonio. 

“ Then give me mine, and let us make peace.” 

The old men, after having returned their wigs, . 
shook hands and swore to remain good friends all 
their lives. 

Peace having been restored, the woodcutter said, 
“What then, brother Geppetto, can I do for you?” 

“ I should like a piece of wood to make a mario¬ 
nette. Will you give it to me ?” 

Master Antonio gladly took up the piece of wood 
that had frightened him so. But when he was 
about to hand it to Geppetto the piece of wood 
gave a spring, and, slipping violently from his 
hands, fell and struck the shins of poor Geppetto. 

“ Ah! you are very polite when you give pres¬ 
ents! Truly, Master Antonio, you have nearly 
lamed me.” 

“ I swear to you that I did not do it.” 

“ Then I did it.” 

“The fault is all in this piece of wood.” 

“ I know that, but it was you who threw it at 
my legs.” 



8 


PINOCCHIO 


“ I did not throw it.” 

“ Story-teller! ” 

“ Geppetto, do not offend me or I will call you 
Corn Meal.” 

“ Mule! ” 

“ Corn Meal! ” 

“ Ass! ” 

“ Corn Meal! ” 

“ Ugly monkey ! ” 

“ Corn Meal! ” 

Hearing himself called Corn Meal for the third 
time, Geppetto lost control of himself. He ap¬ 
proached the woodcutter and gave him a blow. 
When the battle was ended Master Antonio found 
two scratches on his nose, and Geppetto a few 
buttons less on his jacket. They again shook 
hands and swore to remain good friends all the 
rest of their lives. Geppetto took up the piece of 
wood in his arms and, thanking Master Antonio, 
went home, limping all the way. 






CHAPTER III 

Geppetto’s home consisted of one room on the 
ground floor. It received light from a window 
under a staircase. The furniture could not have 
been more simple, — a broken chair, a poor bed, 
and a nearly ruined table. On one of the partitions 
there was a fireplace with wood burning; but the 
fire was painted, and above it there was also painted 
a boiling pot with clouds of steam all around it 
that made it quite real. 

As soon as he entered Geppetto began to 
make a marionette. “ What name shall I give 
9 









IO 


PINOCCHIO 


him?” he said to himself. “I think I will call 
him Pinocchio. That name will bring with it good 
fortune. I have known a whole family called 
Pinocchio. Pinocchio was the father, Pinocchio 
was the mother, and the children were called little 
Pinocchios, and everybody lived well. The richest 
of them begged.” 

When he had found the name for the mario¬ 
nette he began to work with a will. He quickly 
made the forehead, then the hair, and then the 
eyes. After he had made the eyes, just imagine 
how surprised he was to see them look around, 
and finally gaze at him fixedly ! Geppetto, seeing 
himself looked at by two eyes of wood, said to 
the head, “ Why do you look at me so, eyes of 
wood ? ” 

No response. 

After he had made the eyes he made the nose; 
but the nose began to grow, and it grew, grew, grew, 
until it became a great big nose, and Geppetto 
thought it would never stop. He tried hard to 
stop it, but the more he cut at it the longer that 
impertinent nose became. 

After the nose he made the mouth. The mouth 
was hardly finished when it commenced to sing and 
laugh. “ Stop laughing,” said Geppetto, vexed ; 
but it was like talking to the wall. “ Stop laughing. 



PINOCCHIO 


I 


I repeat it,” he said again in a loud tone. Then the 
mouth stopped laughing and stuck out its tongue. 

Geppetto, in order not to notice the impudence, 
feigned not to see it and continued to work. After 
the mouth he made the chin, then the neck, then 
the shoulders, then the body, then the arms and 
hands. 

Hardly had he finished the hands when Geppetto 
felt his wig pulled off. He quickly turned, and 



what do you think he saw ? He saw his yellow 
wig in the hands of the marionette. “Pinocchio! 
give me back my wig immediately,” he said. But 
Pinocchio, instead of giving back the wig, put it on 
his own head, making himself look half smothered. 

At this insolence Geppetto looked sad and mel¬ 
ancholy, a thing he had never done before in his 






12 


PINOCCHIO 


life; and turning to Pinocchio, said : “ Bad little boy! 
You are not yet finished and already lack respect to 
your father. Bad, bad boy ! ” And he dried a tear. 

There were now only the legs and feet to make. 
When Geppetto had finished them he felt a kick 
on the end of his nose. “ I deserve it,” he said to 
himself ; “ I ought to have thought of this at first! 
Now it is too late!” Then he took the mario¬ 
nette in his arms and placed him on the ground to 
make him walk. Pinocchio behaved at first as if 
his legs were asleep and he could not move them. 
Geppetto led him around the room for some time, 
showing him how to put one foot in front of the 
other. When his legs were stretched Pinocchio 
began to walk and then to run around the room. 
When he saw the door open he jumped into the 
street and ran away. 

Poor Geppetto ran as fast as he could, but he 
was not able to catch him ; Pinocchio jumped like 
a rabbit. He made a noise with his wooden 
feet on the hard road like twenty pairs of little 
wooden shoes. 

“ Stop him ! stop him ! ” cried Geppetto ; but 
the people in the street, seeing the wooden mario¬ 
nette running as fast as a rabbit, stopped to look at 
it, and laughed, and laughed, and laughed, so that 
it is really hard to describe how they enjoyed it all. 



PINOCCHIO 


3 



Finally, through good fortune, a soldier appeared, 
who, hearing all the noise, thought that some colt 
had escaped from its master. He planted himself 
in the middle of the road and with a fixed look 
determined to catch the runaway. Pinocchio, when 
he saw the soldier in the road, tried to pass between 
his legs, but he could not do it. The soldier, 
scarcely moving his body, seized the marionette 
by the nose (which was a very ridiculous one, just 
the size to be seized by a soldier) and consigned 
him to the hands of Geppetto, who tried to correct 
him by pulling his ears. But just imagine — when 
he searched for the ears he could not find them ! 
Do you know why ? Because, in the haste of 
making Pinocchio, he did not finish carving them. 






14 


PINOCCHIO 


Then Geppetto took him by the neck, and, while 
he led him back, said, shaking him, “ Wait until we 
get home and I will give you a whipping.” 

Pinocchio, at this threat, threw himself on the 
ground and refused to walk farther. Meanwhile 
the curious people and the loungers began to stop 
and surround them. First one said something, then 
another. “ Poor marionette ! ” said one of them, 
“ he is right not to want to go back to his home. 
Who knows how hard Geppetto beats him ? ” And 
others added maliciously : “ That Geppetto appears 
a kind man, but he is a true tyrant with boys. 
If he gets that poor marionette in his hands, he will 
break him in pieces.” 

Altogether they made so much noise that the 
soldier gave Pinocchio back his liberty and took to 
prison instead that poor old man, who, not finding 
words at first with which to defend himself, wept 
like a calf, and on approaching the prison stammered 
out: “ Wicked son ! and to think I tried so hard to 
make a good marionette! I ought to have thought 
of all this at first.” 

What happened afterward is a story so strange 
that you will hardly believe it. However, I will 
tell it to you in the following chapters. 



CHAPTER IV 


I will tell you then, children, that while poor old 
Geppetto was led to prison without having done any 
wrong, that rogue Pinocchio, being free, took to 
his heels and ran toward the fields in order more 
easily to reach his house. In his haste he jumped 
high mounds of earth, hedges of thorns, and ditches 
of water, just as rabbits and deer do when chased 
by hunters. 

When he arrived before the house he found the 
door to the street half shut. He pushed it open, 
entered the room, and bolted the door. Then he 
threw himself down on the floor and heaved a great 
big sigh of happiness. 

But that happiness did not last very long because 
he heard some one crying in the room — “Cri-cri- 
cri! ” 


15 



6 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Who is speaking to me ? ” said Pinocchio, 
frightened. 

“ It is I.” 

Pinocchio turned around and saw a large cricket 
that walked slowly up on the wall. 

“ Tell me, Cricket, who are you ? ” 

“ I am the Talking Cricket, and I have lived in 
this room for more than a hundred years.” 

“To-day, however, this room is mine,” said the 
marionette, “ and if you wish to do me a favor, go 
away immediately, without even turning yourself 
around once.” 

“ I will not go away from here,” said the Cricket, 
“ without telling you a great truth.” 

“Tell it to me and be gone.” 

“Woe to boys who rebel against their parents, 
and who foolishly run away from their homes. 
They will never get along well in the world, and 
sooner or later will bitterly repent of their 
actions.” 

“ Sing on, little Cricket,* if it pleases you ; but I 
know that to-morrow, at the dawn of day, I shall 
go away, because if I remain here, what happens 
to all other boys will happen to me. I shall have 
to go to school and be made to study; and I will 
tell you in confidence that I have no wish to 
study at all, and I propose to play and run after 



PINOCCHIO 


7 


butterflies and climb trees and take the little birds 
out of their nests.” 

“ Poor little stupid thing! Do you not know 
that in doing so you will become a donkey, and 
that everybody will make fun of you?” 

“ Calm yourself, bad Cricket of ill omen ! ” cried 
Pinocchio. 

But the Cricket, who was a patient philosopher, 
instead of becoming angry at this impertinence, 
continued in the same tone of voice: “And if it 
does not please you to go to school, why not at 
least learn a trade, so as to be able to earn honestly 
a piece of bread ? ” 

“ Do you wish me to tell you ? ” replied Pinocchio, 
who began to lose patience; “ because among the 
trades of the world there is only one that suits my 
genius.” 

“And what trade may that be ? ” 

“ That of eating, drinking, sleeping, and amusing 
myself, and of living, from morning to night, an 
easy life.” 

“Those who live that way,” said the Talking 
Cricket with his usual calmness, “always end in 
the hospital or in prison.” 

“ Take care, bad Cricket of ill omen! If you 
make me angry I pity you.” 

“ Poor Pinocchio ! you make me pity you.” 



8 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Why do I make you pity me ? ” 

“ Because you are a marionette; and, what is 
worse, you have a wooden head.” 

At these words Pinocchio jumped up enraged, 
and taking a hammer from a bench flung it at the 
Talking Cricket. 

Perhaps he did not believe himself capable of 
doing such a thing ; but unfortunately the hammer 
struck the Cricket in the head so suddenly that he 
had only the breath to say “ Cri-cri-cri,” and then 
remained stuck fast to the wall. 










CHAPTER V 


Meanwhile the night came on, and Pinocchio, 
remembering that he had eaten nothing, felt a 
gnawing in his stomach that strongly resembled 
an appetite. But the appetite of boys increases 
very quickly, and so after a few minutes the appe¬ 
tite became hunger, and the hunger finally became 
like that of a wolf. 

Poor Pinocchio ran suddenly to the fireplace, 
where there was a pot of boiling water into which 
he tried to look ; but he found that it was only a 
painting. Imagine his surprise! His nose, which 
was already long, began to grow longer, nearly 
equal to four fingers. Then he ran around the 
room and rummaged through all the drawers and 
boxes and all the hiding places in search of a piece 
of bread,—only a little piece of dried bread, a crust, 
a bone for a dog, a little mush, a fish bone, a ker¬ 
nel of a cherry, in fact anything at all to eat; but 
he found absolutely nothing. 

Meanwhile his hunger constantly increased. Poor 
Pinocchio had no other relief than that of yawning, 

19 


20 


PINOCCHIO 


and he made such wide gapes that the corners of his 
mouth touched his ears. After having yawned he 
felt as if his stomach would go away. Then weeping 
and despairing, he said : “ The Talking Cricket was 
right. I have behaved badly in turning my back on 
my papa and running away. If my papa were only 
here now, I should not find myself dying of yawns. 
Oh ! what a horrible sickness hunger is! ” 

Suddenly it appeared to him that he saw some¬ 
thing on the top of a rubbish heap that very much 
resembled a hen’s egg. It required but a second 
to jump to the spot and there he really saw a nice 
big egg. 

It is impossible to describe the joy of the mario¬ 
nette. It is necessary to be a marionette in order 
to understand it. Fearing that it might be a dream, 
he turned the egg around in his hands and touched 
it and kissed it, and kissing it said : “ And now, 
how ought I to cook it ? Shall I make an ome¬ 
let ? No, it is better to poach it ; or would it not 
be more savory to scramble it ? Or instead of 
cooking it, I might drink it raw. No, the nicest 
way is to cook it in a saucepan.” 

No sooner said than done. He placed a sauce¬ 
pan above a heap of burning shavings. In the 
saucepan, instead of oil or butter, he put a little 
water. When the water began to smoke — tac ! — 



PINOCCHIO 


21 


he broke the shell of the egg and held it over the 
steaming saucepan. He was in the act of pour¬ 
ing out the egg, when instead of the yolk there 
appeared a little chicken, very lively and polite. 
It made a beautiful bow and said: “ Many thanks, 
Mr. Pinocchio, for saving me the trouble of break¬ 
ing my shell. Good-by! Be good and give my 
respects to the family.” 

Saying this, the little chick spread its wings and 
flew out of the open window and away so quickly 
that it was soon out of sight. 

The poor marionette remained there stupefied, 
with his eyes fixed, with his mouth open, and with 
the eggshell in his hands. He soon came to him¬ 
self, however, and began to weep, to scream, and 
to stamp his feet on the ground in desperation, 
and while weeping he said : “ Oh, yes ! the Talking 
Cricket was right. If I had not run away, and if 
my papa were only here, I should not find myself 
dying of hunger. Ah! what a horrible sickness 
hunger is! ” 

And because his stomach still grumbled more 
than ever, and because he did not know what else 
to do, he thought he would go out and run to the 
little neighboring town, in the hope of finding some 
charitable person who would help him and give him 
a piece of bread. 




CHAPTER VI 


It was a horrible night. It thundered very heav- * 
ily and it lightened as if the heavens would take 
fire, while an ugly wind whistled savagely and raised 
an immense cloud of dust. 

Pinocchio was afraid of thunder and lightning, 
but his hunger was greater than his fear. In a few 
hundred jumps he arrived at the edge of the town, 
out of breath, with his tongue hanging out on his 
chin, just like a hunting dog. But he found the 
town all dark and deserted. The stores were closed; 
the doors of the houses were shut and the windows 
were bolted; there was not even a dog in the 
streets; it appeared as if the town were dead. 

Then Pinocchio despairingly pulled a doorbell of 
one of the houses and rang it with all his might, 
saying to himself, “ Some one will come.” 

Soon a cross old man with a nightcap on his 
head looked out of a window and cried: “ What 
do you want at this hour ? ” 

22 






PINOCCHIO 


23 


“ Will you please give me a little bread ? " 

“Wait there, and I will return immediately," 
replied the old man, believing that he had to deal 
with some of the bad boys who go around at night 
worrying people by ringing their bells. After half 
a minute the window opened again and the same 
old man said to Pinocchio, “ Come under the 
window and hold your hat." 

Pinocchio, who had not yet a hat, approached 
and was nearly drowned by a great deluge of water 
that the old man poured down on him from a large 
bucket. 

He returned home like a drowned rat, weak from 
hunger and tired out; and because he had not 
enough strength to stand upright, he fell into a 
chair and rested his feet on the stove that was 
filled with burning shavings, and fell asleep. But 
while he slept, his feet, which were of wood, took 
fire and slowly became cinders. But Pinocchio 
snored away just as if his feet belonged to some 
one else. 

He was awakened the next morning by some 
one who had knocked at the door. 

“ Who is there?" he asked, yawning and rubbing 
his eyes. 

“ It is I," replied a voice. 

That voice was the voice of Geppetto, 




CHAPTER VII 

Poor Pinocchio, who was not quite awake, did 
not notice that his feet had been burned off. He 
gave a start and jumped down from his chair so as 
to run and open the door. Instead, after stagger¬ 
ing two or three times, he fell flat on the floor; and 
in falling he made the same noise that a sack of 
wood would make in falling from the fifth story of 
a house. 

“ Open the door,” cried Geppetto, from the street. 

“ I cannot, Father,” responded the marionette, 
weeping and turning over and over on the floor. 

“ Why ? ” 


24 



PINOCCHIO 


25 


“ Because some one has eaten my feet/’ 

“And who has eaten them ? ” 

“ The cat,” said Pinocchio, seeing the cat with 
its two front paws playing with a bit of wood. 

“ Open the door, I say,” repeated Geppetto; “if 
not, when I come into the house I shall whip you.” 

“ I cannot stand up, believe me. Oh! poor, 
poor me! I shall be obliged to walk on my knees 
all my life.” 

- Geppetto, believing that all the weeping was 
simply a trick to deceive him, thought he would 
make an end of it. So he climbed up the side of 
the house and entered through the window. 















26 


PINOCCHIO 


At first he was very angry, but when he saw 
Pinocchio really stretched out on the floor without 
any feet, he felt sorry, and he took him gently 
by the neck and began to caress him. Swallowing 
a big sob, he said, “You dear little Pinocchio! 
How is it that you have burned off your feet ? ” 

“ I do not know, Papa ; but, believe me, the night 
has been a horrible one, and I shall remember it 
always. It thundered and lightened and I was so 
very hungry ! And the Talking Cricket said to 
me: ‘ It serves you right; you have been wicked 
and you deserve it all.’ I said to him, ‘Take care, 
Cricket ’; and he said to me, ‘ You are a marionette 
and have a wooden head/ I then took a hammer 
and threw it at him and it killed him. Then I 
placed a saucepan on some burning shavings to 
cook an egg, but when I broke the egg a little 
chicken flew out of the shell and said, ‘ Good-by, 
little one.’ Meanwhile I grew more hungry and ran 
to a house and rang the doorbell for help. An old 
man with his nightcap on came to the window and 
emptied a bucket of water, all over me. Was that 
a nice way to treat a boy? I came home right 
away and dropped into that chair and placed my 
feet on the stove. Now you have come back and 
found me with my feet all gone, and I am still 
awfully hungry. Ih ! ih ! ih ! ih ! ” 



PINOCCHIO 


27 


And poor Pinocchio began to cry and bellow so 
loudly that he could be heard for miles. 

Geppetto, who, through all the sad story, thought 
of only one thing, and that was that the marionette 
was dying of hunger, suddenly pulled out of his 
pocket fhree pears and handing them to the mario¬ 
nette said : “ These three pears were to have been 
my breakfast, but I give them to you willingly. 
Eat them, and may they do you good.” 

“ If you want me to eat them, be so kind as to 
peel them.” 

“Peel them?” replied Geppetto, greatly sur¬ 
prised. “ I would never have believed that you 
could be so hard to please. Bad boy ! In this 
world little boys must eat what is given them.” 

“ That is all right,” said Pinocchio, “ but I never 
eat fruit unless it is peeled. I cannot eat the 
skins.” 

And that good man Geppetto took out of his 
pocket a small knife and with much patience peeled 
the three pears and placed all the skins on the 
corner of the table. 

After Pinocchio had eaten the first pear in two 
mouthfuls, he was in the act of throwing away the 
core, when Geppetto took him by the arms and 
said to him : “ Do not throw the core away. Every¬ 
thing in this world has its use.” 



28 


PINOCCHIO 


“ But I never eat the core,” cried the marionette, 
wriggling like a snake. 

“ All right! ” said Geppetto, without getting 
angry. 

The result was that the three cores, instead of 
being thrown away, were placed on the corner of 
the table with the skins. 

Having eaten, or, to describe it more truly, hav¬ 
ing devoured, the three pears, Pinocchio gave a long 
yawn and said, “ I am still hungry.” 

“ But, my boy, I have nothing more to give you.” 

“ Nothing more, truly ? ” 

“ Nothing, except those skins and cores.” 

“Oh; well,” said Pinocchio, “if there is nothing 
more, I will eat the skins.” 

And he commenced to eat them. At first he 
puckered his mouth, but one after another the 
skins disappeared. After the skins he ate the 
cores also. When he had eaten everything he 
clapped his hands contentedly on his little stomach 
and said, “Now I feel better.” 

“You see now,” said Geppetto, “that I was 
right when I told you that you must accustom 
yourself to what is given you and not be too dainty. 
My dear boy, no one ever knows what may happen 
in this world, so always be prepared for the worst.” 




CHAPTER VIII 

The marionette had scarcely appeased his hun¬ 
ger when he began to grumble and cry because 
he wished a new pair of feet. Geppetto, in order 
to punish him for his bad actions, let him cry for 
half a day. Then he said: “ And why should I 
make you a new pair of feet ? Perhaps you would 
run away again.” 

“ I promise you,” said the marionette, sobbing, 
“ that hereafter I will be a good boy.” 

“All boys,” said Geppetto, “when they wish to 
obtain something, say that.” 

“ I promise you that I will go to school. I will 
study and I will be an honor — ” 

“ All boys, when they wish to obtain something, 
tell the same story.” 


2 9 








30 


PINOCCHIO 


“ But I am not like other boys. I am better 
than all the rest and I always speak the truth. I 
•promise you, Papa, that I will learn a trade, and 
that I will be your consolation and your support in 
your old age.” 

Geppetto, although he had the face of a tyrant, 
began to shed tears, and his heart was full of com¬ 
passion when he saw poor little Pinocchio in such 
a state. He took his tools and two pieces of wood 
and began to work very diligently. 

In less than an hour the new feet were finished. 
They were two nimble and nervous feet, and were 
made so beautifully that they looked as if they 
might have been carved by a great artist. Then 
Geppetto said to the marionette, “ Close your eyes 
and go to sleep.” 

Pinocchio closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. 
Meantime Geppetto stuck on the two feet with a 
little glue; and he did it so well that one could 
hardly see the place where they were joined. As 
soon as the marionette saw that his feet were on, 
he jumped down and began to dance around as if 
he were mad with joy. 

“ In order to pay you back for your kindness,” 
said Pinocchio to his papa, “ I wish to go to school 
immediately.” 

“ Good boy! ” 






* 


3i 





























































































32 


PINOCCHIO 


“But in order to go to school I need some 
clothes.” 

Geppetto, who was so poor that he had not a cent 
in his pocket, made a beautiful suit of clothes out of 
some cardboard painted all over with flowers. He 
made a pair of shoes out of the bark of a tree, and a 
cap out of stale bread crumbs all molded together. 

Pinocchio ran immediately to 'look at himself in 
a tub filled with water, and he was so delighted 
with his appearance that he said proudly, “Truly, 
I look like a gentleman ! ” 

“ Yes, indeed,” replied Geppetto, “ because, bear 
in mind, it is not fine clothes so much as clean 
ones that make a gentleman.” 

“By the by,” added the marionette, “now in 
order to go to school I lack something else.” 

“ What is that ? ” 

“ Why, I lack an A B C card.” 

“ You are right; but how can I get one ? ” 

“That is easy. Go to the store and buy it.” 

“And the money ? ” 

“ I have none.” 

“Neither have I,” added the good old man, 
looking sad. 

Pinocchio, although he was a happy boy, looked 
sad too, because real trouble is understood by 
everybody, even by boys. 



PINOCCHIO 


33 


“ Have patience ! ” cried Geppetto, suddenly 
getting up. Taking off his coat all covered with 
patches, he ran out of the house. 

After a little while he returned with an A B C 
card in his hand, but his coat was gone. The poor 
man was in his shirt sleeves and it was snowing 
outside too. 

“ And the coat, Papa ? ” 

“ I have sold it.” 

“ Why did you sell it ? ” 

“Because it made me too warm.” 

Pinocchio understood the reply at once, and not 
being able to restrain his feelings, he jumped up on 
Geppetto, threw his arms around his neck, and 
kissed his face all over. 
















CHAPTER IX 

The snow having stopped, Pinocchio, with his 
nice new ABC card under his arm, went to school. 
As he walked along he imagined many things and 
built a thousand castles in the air, each new one 
more beautiful than the others. And, talking to 
himself, he said: “To-day at school I wish to learn 
immediately to read; to-morrow I will learn to 
write, and then the day after to-morrow I will 
learn to make numbers. Then with my learning I 
will earn lots of pennies, and with the pennies that 
will fill my pocket I will order my papa a nice new 
suit of cloth. But why did I say of cloth ? I will 
have one of gold and line it with silver and have 
34 



PINOCCHIO 


35 


buttons of brilliants. My poor papa deserves it 
truly, because in order to buy me an A B C card so 
that I could learn, he is now in his shirt sleeves, in 
the cold weather too! There are not many papas 
who would sacrifice so much.” 

While he was talking thus he seemed to hear 
some music of a fife and strokes of a drum — pi- 
pi-pi, pi-pi-pi, zum, zum , zum, zum. He stopped 
to listen. Those sounds came from the end of a 
long street that led to a small square near the sea. 
“ What is that beautiful music ? It is too bad that 
I have to go to school. If — ” And he remained 
there perplexed. He must decide either to go to 
school or to hear the fife and drum. “ To-day I will 
go and hear the fife and drum, and to-morrow I will 
go to school. There is always time to go there,” 
said the little scoundrel, shrugging his shoulders. 

No sooner said than done. He turned down the 
street and ran as hard as he could. The more he 
ran, the more distinct became the sound of the fife 
and drum— pi-pi-pi, pi-pi-pi,pi-pi-pi, zum, zum, zum, 
zum. He soon found himself in the middle of a 
square, which was filled with people. They all stood 
around a little wooden building with a sign painted 
in many colors. 

“ What is that house ? ” asked Pinocchio, turning 
to a boy standing near. 



36 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Read the sign and you will know.” 

“ I would read it willingly, but somehow to-day 
I do not know how.” 

“ Stupid one ! then I will read it for you. Know, 
then, that on that sign with letters like fire there 
is written, ‘ Grand Theater of Marionettes.’ ” 

“ How soon does it begin ? ” 

“ It begins now.” 

“ And how much is the admission ? ” 

“ Four pennies.” 

Pinocchio was wild with curiosity, and forgetting 
all his good resolutions, shamelessly turned to the 
boy with whom he was talking and said, “ Would 
you give me four pennies until to-morrow ? ” 

“ I would give you the pennies willingly, but to¬ 
day I have none to spare.” 

“For four pennies I will sell you my jacket,” 
said the marionette. 

“What good would a paper cardboard jacket do 
me ? If it rains on it, it will fall apart.” 

“I will sell my shoes.” 

“They are good only for a fire.” 

“ How much will you give me for my cap ? ” 

“Nice bargain, truly! a cap of bread! Why, 
the rats would eat it all in a night.” 

Pinocchio was full of trouble. He stood there 
not knowing what to do. He had not the courage 



PINOCCHIO 


37 


to offer the last thing he had. He hesitated, but 
finally he said, “ Will you give me four pennies for 
this ABC card ? ” 

“ I am a boy and I do not buy from boys,” 
replied the little fellow, who had more good sense 
than the marionette. 

“For four pennies I will take the ABC card,” 
said a seller of old* clothes, who heard the conver¬ 
sation. So the card was sold at once. And to 
think that that poor man, Geppetto, remained at 
home trembling in his shirt sleeves in the cold, 
just to buy that ABC card for his son! 





CHAPTER X 


When Pinocchio entered the theater of the mar¬ 
ionettes something happened that almost caused a 
revolution. 

The reader must know that the curtain was up 
and the comedy had begun. On the stage Harle¬ 
quin and Pulcinello were quarreling, and, as usual 
in stage performances of marionettes, there were 
many blows given with a stick. The audience were 
listening intently. They laughed out loud on hear¬ 
ing the quarrel of the two marionettes, who gesticu¬ 
lated and acted their threats as naturally as if they 
had been two real people. 

Suddenly Harlequin stopped reciting. Turning 
toward the audience and pointing to some one in 
the rear, he began to shout in a dramatic tone : 

38 

















PINOCCHIO 


39 


“ Deities of the universe ! do I dream or am I 
awake? Nevertheless that boy there is Pinocchio.” 

“ It is Pinocchio, truly ! ” said Pulcinello. 

“ It is indeed he! ” screamed Rosa, who peeped 
from behind the scenes. 

“ It is Pinocchio ! It is Pinocchio! ” cried in a 
chorus all the marionettes, coming out and jump¬ 
ing on the stage. 

“ Pinocchio, come up here to me,” cried Harle¬ 
quin. “ Come and throw your arms around your 
wooden brothers.” 

At this affecting invitation Pinocchio made a 
jump, and from the back part of the theater he 
went to the reserved portion; then with another 
jump from the reserved seats he mounted on the 
head of the orchestra leader, and from there he 
jumped upon the stage. 

It is impossible to imagine the kisses, the em¬ 
braces, the words of endearment, the wooden¬ 
headed sayings of true and sincere brotherhood 
that Pinocchio received in the midst of the actors 
and actresses of that dramatic company. It was 
a touching sight; but the public, seeing that the 
comedy was stopped, grew impatient and began to 
cry, “We want the play.” 

It was all breath thrown away, for the mario¬ 
nettes, instead of continuing the dialogue, redoubled 



40 


PINOCCHIO 


their cries ; and taking Pinocchio on their shoulders, 
they carried him in triumph behind the wings on 
the stage. 

Then came out the manager, a big man, who 
made people tremble just by looking at them. He 
had a beard, black as ink, which reached to his feet 
and tripped him when he walked. His mouth was 
as large as a furnace, his eyes looked like two lan¬ 
terns of red glass, and in his hands he cracked a 
large whip made of serpents and tails of wolves 
tied together. 

At the unexpected sight of the manager all the 
marionettes became mute. No one breathed. Why, 
you could have heard a fly walk! The poor mari¬ 
onettes, both actors and actresses, trembled like 
so many leaves. 

“ Why have you come here and made all this 
disorder in my theater?” he asked, looking at 
Pinocchio. His voice sounded like that of an ogre 
with a cold in his head. 

“ Believe me, most illustrious man, the fault is 
not mine ! ” 

“ Do not answer me ! to-night we will settle our 
affairs.” 

The marionettes went on with the comedy and 
the manager went to the kitchen where he was 
preparing for supper a sheep that was cooking on 



PINOCCHIO 


41 


a spit. As he needed more wood to finish cooking 
it, he called Harlequin and Pulcinello, who had fin¬ 
ished their performance, and said to them : “ Bring 
me now the marionette that you will find tied to a 
nail. He appears to be made of good dry wood, 
and I am sure he will make a beautiful flame for 
a roast.’’ 

Harlequin and Pulcinello at first hesitated, but 
a glance from their master’s eye scared them and 
they obeyed. Soon they returned to the kitchen 
carrying Pinocchio in their arms. Struggling like 
an eel out of water, he cried despairingly: “ Oh, 
Papa, dear Papa, save me! I do not wish to die! 
No, I do not wish to die ! ” 






CHAPTER XI 

The proprietor, Fire Eater (for that was his name), 
looked fearful with his black beard covering his 
chest and legs like an apron ; but he really was not 
a bad man. When he saw Pinocchio carried before 
him and crying, “ I do not want to die ! I do not 
want to die ! ” he began to pity him. He resisted 
the feeling for a little while, but when he could do 
so no longer he gave a terrible sneeze. 

At that sound Harlequin, who until then had 
been afflicted and doubled up like a weeping wil¬ 
low, began to look more lively, and leaning toward 
Pinocchio, whispered to him softly, “ Good news, 
brother ! Our master has sneezed. That is a sign 
that he pities you, and now you are saved.” 

For you must know that while most men either 
cry or at least pretend to wipe their eyes when they 
42 








PINOCCHIO 


43 


feel moved to pity, Fire Eater, instead, had the 
habit of sneezing. It was his way of letting others 
know the tenderness of his heart. 

After having sneezed, the manager, appearing 
still cross, cried to Pinocchio, “ Stop crying ! Your 
sobs make me feel squeamish at the pit of my 
stomach. I feel a spasm that nearly — etchi- 
etchi —” and he sneezed twice more. 

“God bless you!” said Pinocchio. 

“ Thanks. And your papa and mamma are still 
living ? ” asked Fire Eater. 

“ My papa, yes; but I have never seen my 
mother.” 

“Oh, what a terrible thing it would have been 
for your papa if I had thrown you on the fire ! 
Poor old man! I pity him— etchi-etchi-etchi —” 
and he sneezed three times more. 

“ God bless you ! ” said Pinocchio. 

“Thanks. But some one must also pity me, be¬ 
cause you see I have no more wood with which I 
can cook my meat; and you would have made a 
fine fire. But now that I am moved to pity for you, 
I must have patience. Instead of you I shall have 
to burn some one of my company. Ho! guards, 
come here! ” 

At this command two guards of wood appeared 
with soldier caps on their heads and swords by their 



44 


PINOCCHIO 


sides. Then the manager said to them in a wheez¬ 
ing tone: “ Bring me Harlequin, bound tightly, 
and then throw him on the fire. I want that roast 
cooked well.” 

Just imagine how poor Harlequin must have felt! 
He was so scared that his legs refused to support 
him, and he fell face downward on the floor. Pi- 
nocchio, at this most pitiful sight, threw himself at 
the feet of the manager, and, crying so hard that he 
wet the long, black beard of Fire Eater, said in a 
supplicating voice, " Pity, Mr. Fire Eater ! ” 

“ There are no Misters here,” replied the manager 
in a dry tone. 

“ Pity, Mr. Cavalier ! ” 

“ There are no cavaliers here.” 

“ Pity, Mr. Commander!” 

“ There are no commanders here.” 

“ Pity, Your Excellency ! ” 

At hearing himself called “Excellency” the 
manager immediately pursed up his lips and became 
more humane and tractable. He said to Pinocchio, 
“ Well, what do you wish ? ” 

“ I ask pity for poor Harlequin.” 

“ I have saved you, but I must put some one on 
the fire, so that my meat shall be well cooked.” 

“In that case,” cried Pinocchio, proudly, straight¬ 
ening himself and throwing aside his cap of bread 



PINOCCHIO 


45 


crumbs, — “ in that case I know what my duty 
should be. Come, guards, bind me and throw me 
into the flames. No, it is not just that poor Har¬ 
lequin, my true friend, should die for me! ” 

These words, pronounced in a loud tone and with 
heroic accents, made all the marionettes that were 
present at this scene cry. The guards, although 
made of wood, wept like two baby lambs. 

Fire Eater at first remained hard and cold as a 
piece of ice; but afterward he slowly began to 
show symptoms of being moved and of sneezing. 
After having sneezed four or five times, he held out 
his arms to Pinocchio and said : “ You are a brave 
boy. Come here and give me a kiss.” 

Pinocchio ran quickly, and, climbing like a squirrel 
up the beard of the manager, gave him a most 
beautiful kiss right on the point of his nose. 

“ Then I am free ? ” asked Harlequin, with a thin 
voice that could scarcely be heard. 

“Yes, you are free,” replied Fire Eater. Then 
he added, sighing and shaking his head : “ To-night 
I will eat my supper half-cooked; but another 
time, woe to him who changes my plans! ” 
When the marionettes heard that Harlequin was 
free they ran to the stage, lit all the lights, just 
as if it were a grand holiday, and began to dance 
and jump. And they danced all night long. 




CHAPTER XII 

The next morning Fire Eater called Pinocchio 
aside and said to him, “ What is your papa’s name ? ” 

“ Geppetto.” 

“ What is his business ? ” 

“ He is poor.” 

“ Docs he earn much ?” 

“He earns so much that he never has a cent in 
his pockets. Just imagine, in order to buy me an 
ABC card he had to sell his coat! It was covered 
with patches, but they gave him enough so that he 
could buy me that.” 

“ Poor man ! I pity him very much. Here are 
five pieces of gold. Go quickly and carry them to 
him, and remember me kindly to him.” 

46 






PINOCCHIQ 


47 


Pinocchio, as it is easy to imagine, thanked the 
manager many times. He embraced the mario¬ 
nettes one after another, and, nearly crazy with joy, 
started back to his home. But he had not gone 
half a mile when he met a Fox lame in one paw, 
and a Cat blind in both eyes. The Fox, who 
limped, leaned on the Cat; and the Cat, who was 
blind, was guided by the Fox. 

“ Good morning, Pinocchio,” said the Fox, salut¬ 
ing him politely. 

“ How do you know my name ? ” asked the 
marionette. 

“ I know your papa very well.” 

“ When did you see him ? ” 

“ I saw him yesterday at the door of his house.” 

“ What was he doing?” 

» He was in his shirt sleeves and he trembled 
with the cold.” 

“Poor Papa! but he will tremble no more after 
to-day.” 

“ Why ? ” 

“ Because I have become a great, rich man.” 

« You a great, rich man!” said the Fox, and he 
laughed aloud. The Cat also laughed, but in order 
not to be seen laughing he stroked his mustache 
with his two front paws. 

“ What are you laughing about ? ” said Pinocchio, 



48 


PINOCCHIO 


taken aback. “ I hate to make your mouths water, 
but I have here, as you shall see, five beautiful 
pieces of gold.” 

And he pulled out of his pocket the money that 
Fire Eater had given him. At the sound of the 
money the Fox involuntarily stretched his leg that 
was paralyzed and the Cat opened wide his eyes 
that looked like two green lamps ; but it was all 
done so quickly that Pinocchio did not see anything. 

“ And now,” said the Fox, “ what do you propose 
to do with all that money ? ” 

“First of all,” replied the marionette, “I shall 
buy a coat for my papa, all covered with gold and 
silver and with buttons of brilliants. Then I shall 
buy a new A B C card for myself.” 

“For yourself ?” 

“ Yes, indeed, because I wish to go to school and 
begin to study.” 

“ Look at me,” said the Fox; “ because of my 
passion for studying I have lost a leg.” 

“ Look at me ! ” cried the Cat; “because of my 
love for studying I have lost both eyes.” 

In the meantime a Blackbird flew near them and 
said: “ Pinocchio, do not listen to the counsel of bad 
companions. If you do, you will be sorry.” 

Just as soon as the Blackbird had said that, the 
Cat gave a spring and caught it by the back, Before 



PINOCCHIO 


49 


the Blackbird had time to say “Oh! ” the Cat ate 
it up, feathers and all. After it was eaten the Cat 
cleaned his mouth and closed his eyes and became 
as blind as he was at first. 

“ Poor Blackbird ! ” said Pinocchio. “ Why did 
you treat him so badly ? ” 



“ I did it to teach him a lesson. Another time 
he will know that he ought not to meddle with 
other people’s business.” 

They walked along a short distance when the 
Fox, stopping suddenly, said to the marionette, 
“ Should you like to double your money ? ” 





50 


PINOCCHIO 


“What do you mean ? ” 

“ Should you like to make of those miserable 
five pieces, ten ? a hundred ? a thousand ? ” 

“ Why, of course ! And how can you do it ? ” 

“ It is very easy. Instead of going home, come 
with us.” 

“ And where do you want to take me ? ” 

“To the Country of the Owl.” 

Pinocchio thought a little and then said reso¬ 
lutely : “No, I will not go. My father expects me. 
Who knows but that. the poor old man, when I 
did not return yesterday, was worried and wept 
for me ? I have been a bad boy, and the Talking 
Cricket was right when he said, ‘ Disobedient boys 
never get along well in this world.’ I have had one 
experience because I was bad. Only last night, at 
the house of Fire Eater, I was in great danger. Brrr! 
It makes me tremble to think of it.” 

“ Then,” said the Fox, “ you want to go home ? 
All right! Go home, but it will be the worse for 
you.” 

“ Yes, it will be the worse for you,” said the Cat. 

“Think well, Pinocchio, for you have thrown 
away a fortune.” 

“A fortune,” said the Cat. 

“Your five pieces might be two thousand by 
to-morrow,” 



PINOCCHIO 


51 

“Two thousand,” repeated the Cat. 

“But how is it possible that they can become so 
many? ” asked Pinocchio, holding his mouth open 
as if stupefied. 

“I will explain to you,” said the Fox. “You 
must know that in the Country of the Owl there 
is a blessed field called ‘The Field of Miracles.’ 
You make a little hole in the ground and you put 
inside, for example, one piece of gold. Then you 
cover over the hole with a little earth, water it 
with a few drops of water from a fountain, put on 
a little salt, and go to bed and sleep quietly. In 
the meantime, during the night, the gold piece 
begins to grow and blossom ; and the next morn¬ 
ing, returning to the field, guess what you find ? 
Why, you find a tree loaded with gold pieces! ” 

“ If I bury five pieces,” said Pinocchio, all ex¬ 
cited, “ how many shall I find next morning ? ” 

“It is easy to count,” replied the Fox. “You 
can do it on your fingers. Every gold piece will 
make five hundred; and therefore, multiplying 
each by five, you will have two thousand five 
hundred.” 

“ Oh, how beautiful! ” cried Pinocchio, dancing 
with joy. “ When I have all those gold pieces I 
will give you five hundred of them and I will take 
the other two thousand to my papa.” 



52 


PINOCCHIO 


“A present to us ! ” cried the Fox, disdainfully, 
as if he were offended. “ No, indeed ! ” 

“ No, indeed ! ” said the Cat. 

“We,” said the Fox, “work only to enrich 
others.” 

“ Only others,” said the Cat. 

“ What good people ! ” thought Pinocchio ; and 
forgetting all about his papa, the new coat, and 
the ABC card, he said to the Fox and the Cat, 
“Come on, then; I will go with you.” 







CHAPTER XIII 


They walked and walked and walked until they 
arrived at the Red Lobster Inn, tired to death. 

“Let us stop a little here,” said the Fox, “just 
long enough to get something to eat and rest 
ourselves. At midnight we can start again and 
to-morrow morning we shall arrive at the Field 
of Miracles.” 

They entered the Inn and seated themselves at 
the table, but none of them were hungry. The 
poor Cat felt very much indisposed and could eat 
only thirty-five mullets with tomato sauce and four 
portions of tripe ; and because the tripe did not 
taste just right he called three times for butter 
and cheese to put on it. 

53 






54 


PINOCCHIO 


The Fox would willingly have ordered some¬ 
thing, but as the doctor had told him to diet, he 
had to be contented with a nice fresh rabbit dressed 
with the giblets of chicken. After the rabbit he 
ordered, as a finish to his meal, some partridges, 
some pheasants, some frogs, some lizards, and some 
bird of paradise eggs; and then he did not wish 
any more. He had such nausea for food, he said, 
that he could not eat another mouthful. 

Pinocchio ate the least of all. He asked for a 
piece of meat and some bread, but he left every¬ 
thing on his plate. He could think of nothing but 
the Field of Miracles. 

When they had supped the Fox said to the host: 
“ Give me two good rooms, one for Mr. Pinocchio 
and another for me and my companion. Before 
we go we will ring the bell. Remember, however, 
to wake us at midnight so that we can go on with 
our journey.” 

“All right, sir,” replied the host; and he winked 
his eye at the Fox and the Cat, as if to say, “We 
understand each other.” 

Pinocchio had scarcely jumped into bed when 
he fell asleep and began to dream. He seemed to 
be in a field full of arbors, and each arbor was over¬ 
grown with vines covered with large bunches of 
grapes. Instead of grapes, however, they were all 




55 


































































































56 


PINOCCHIO 


gold pieces, that made a noise when the wind blew 
— zin-zin-zin-zin. It was just as if they said, 
“ Here we are ! Let who will come and take us.” 
When Pinocchio was on the point of reaching for 
them he heard a loud knocking at the door of his 
room. It was the landlord who came to tell him 
that the clock had struck midnight. 

“And are my companions ready?” asked the 
marionette. 

“ Better than that! They left two hours ago.” 

“ Why were they in such a hurry ? ” 

“ Because the Cat received word that his father 
was very sick with frosted feet and that he was in 
danger of losing his life.” 

“And they paid for the supper ? ” 

“ What do you think those people are ? They 
are too highly educated to insult a gentleman as 
good as you are.” 

“ Oh, yes ! That affront would have displeased 
me very much,” said Pinocchio, scratching his head. 
Then he asked, “ Did they say where I should meet 
them ? ” 

“At the Field of Miracles, to-morrow morning 
at daybreak.” 

Pinocchio paid a gold piece for his supper and that 
of his companions, and then departed. He groped his 
way along, because outside the Inn it was so dark 



PINOCCHIO 


5 ; 


that he could not see anything. It was very quiet 
and not even a leaf stirred. Some birds flying along 
the road struck Pinocchio on the nose with their 
wings. He jumped back and cried out with fear, 
“Who goes there?” The echo of the surround¬ 
ing hills took up his words and repeated, “Who 



goes there?” “Who goes there?” “Who goes 
there ? ” 


As he walked on, he saw on the trunk of a tree 
a little creature that shone with a pale opaque light, 
just like a candle behind a globe of transparent 
porcelain. 

“ Who are you ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“ I am the Spirit of the Talking Cricket,” it 
replied, with a little voice that seemed to come 
from another world. 







58 


PINOCCHIO 


“ What do you want with me ? ” 

“ I wish to warn you. Go back with your four 
gold pieces that you have left, to your papa, who 
cries and thinks he shall never see you again.” 

“ To-morrow my papa will be a very rich man, be¬ 
cause these four pieces will become two thousand.” 

“ Do not trust any one who promises to make 
you rich in one night, my boy. Usually they 
are mad or deceitful. Listen to me and go back.” 

“ I want to go on.” 

“The hour is late.” 

“ I want to go on.” 

“ The night is dark.” 

“ I want to go on.” 

“ The road is dangerous.” 

“ I want to go on.” 

“ Remember that boys who always do what they 
want to will sooner or later repent.” 

“The same old story ! Good night, Cricket.” 

“ Good night, and may Heaven save you from 
the assassins! ” 

The Talking Cricket had hardly said these words 
when he suddenly disappeared, just as if some one 
had blown a light out, and the road was darker 
than ever. 




CHAPTER XIV 

“ Truly,” said the marionette to himself, starting 
again on his way, “ how unfortunate we poor boys 
are! Everybody scolds us, everybody warns us, 
and everybody gives us advice. Why, everybody 
takes it upon himself to be our papa and master,— 
even the Talking Cricket. Here am I; and because 
I would not pay attention to that tiresome Talking 
Cricket, he said that many things would happen 
to me! I should also meet assassins! I have 
never believed in assassins. I think that assassins 
have been invented by papas on purpose to make 
their boys afraid to go out at night. And then, 
if I should meet them on the road, they would 
59 


6o 


PINOCCHIO 


probably tell me my way. Why, I am not afraid. 
I would go to them and say, right to their faces, 
‘ Mr. Assassins, what do you want of me ? Do 
not think that you. can fool with me. Go away 
then about your own business, quick! * At such 
talk the poor assassins — I can see them now — 
would run away like the wind. In case they might 
be clever enough not to run away, why then I would 
— and thus the thing would end — ” 

But Pinocchio was not able to finish his reason¬ 
ing, because at that moment he thought he heard 
a rustling in the leaves behind him. He turned 
to look and saw in the dark two coal sacks cover¬ 
ing two figures which ran toward him on the tips 
of their toes like ghosts. 

“Here they are, truly!” said Pinocchio to him¬ 
self. Not knowing what to do with the four gold 
pieces, he put them into his mouth and under his 
tongue. Then he tried to run away. But he had 
hardly started when his arms were seized and he 
heard two hollow voices say to him, “ Your money 
or your life ! ” 

Not being able to reply on account of the money 
in his mouth, Pinocchio made many bows and ges¬ 
tures in order to make his captors understand that 
he was a poor marionette and that he did not 
have a cent in his pockets. “ Come on and stop 



PINOCCHIO 


61 


fooling! Out with it!” the brigands cried. .And 
the marionette made signs with his hands and head, 
which meant, “ I have none ! ” 

“ Bring out the money or you will die ! ” said the 
taller assassin. 

“You will die,” repeated the smaller one. 

“ And after you are dead we will kill your papa.” 

“We will kill your papa,” repeated the other. 

“ No, no, no ! Not my poor papa! ” cried Pinoc- 
chio, despairingly; but in saying this the gold pieces 
made a noise in his mouth. 

“ Oh, you story-teller! you have hidden the 
money in your mouth! Out with it!” 

Poor Pinocchio remained quiet. 

“ Ah! do you make believe you are deaf ? 
Wait a little and we will show you how we shall 
make you give up the gold.” 

Then one of them seized the marionette by the 
nose and the other took him by the chin, and they 
began to pull him backward and forward in the 
attempt to open his mouth ; but they could not do 
it. His mouth seemed to be nailed or riveted 
together. 

Then the little assassin took a knife and tried to 
push it between the lips of the marionette; but 
Pinocchio, quick as a flash, caught the assassin’s 
hand with his teeth and bit it off and spat it on the 



62 


PINOCCHIO 


ground. Imagine his surprise when, instead of 
a hand, he found that he had bitten off a cat’s 
paw! 

Encouraged by this first victory he liberated him¬ 
self from the hands of the assassins and, jumping 
a hedge that bordered the road, began to run 
across the fields with the assassins after him, like 
two dogs after a rabbit. The one who had lost a 
paw ran with only one forefoot, but it was wonder¬ 
ful how he could get along. 

After a run of fifteen miles Pinocchio could go 
no farther. Seeing himself lost, he climbed to the 
top of a large pine tree and sat on the branches. 
The assassins also tried to climb; but when they 
got halfway up they slipped and fell to the ground, 
rubbing the skin off their legs and hands as they 
dropped. 

However, they did not consider themselves con¬ 
quered. On the contrary, they collected a bundle 
of sticks, and placing them around the tree, set fire 
to them. In less time than it takes to tell it, the 
pine tree took fire and blazed like a candle blown 
by the wind. Pinocchio, seeing that the flames 
mounted higher and higher, and not wishing to be 
roasted, jumped down from the top of the tree. 
Away he ran, just as before, with the assassins 
always behind and never getting tired. 



PINOCCHIO 


63 


Meanwhile the day dawned and they found them¬ 
selves on the edge of a large trench filled with dirty 
water, just the color of coffee and cream. What 
could they do ? “ One, two, three,” said Pinocchio; 

and bending down and making a great spring, he 
landed safely on the other side. The assassins 
jumped also, but they did not take the right meas¬ 
ure ; and splash! they both fell into the trench. 
Pinocchio, who heard the plunge and the splash, 
cried out, “ I hope you had a nice bath, Mr. Assas¬ 
sins ! ” and then began to run again. He thought 
that they were drowned; but looking back, he saw 
them running as before, dripping water from their 
wet clothes as they followed him. 



c. f< 








CHAPTER XV 

Then the marionette, losing his courage, was on 
the point of throwing himself on the ground and 
giving himself up as conquered, when, looking 
around, he saw in the middle of a dark forest, 
shining afar, a candied house, white as snow. “ If 
I have enough breath to reach that house, perhaps 
I shall be saved,” he said to himself. And without 
delaying a minute, he began to run through the 
forest as fast as he could. The assassins still 
followed him. 

Finally, after a desperate run of two hours, he 
arrived, out of breath, at the door of the house 
and knocked. No one replied. He knocked again 
with great force because he heard approaching 
64 








PINOCCHIO 


65 


the steps and heavy breathing of his pursuers. 
The same silence. 

Seeing that the knocking did not have any effect, 
he began to kick and beat the door in desperation. 
Then there appeared at the door a beautiful Baby 
with blue hair and a white face, like a waxen image, 
with her hands crossed on her breast. Scarcely 
moving her lips, she said, “ In this house there is 
no one ; they are all dead.” 

“ Open at least for me, won’t you ? ” cried Pinoc- 
chio, weeping. 

“ I am also dead.” 

“ Dead ? and then how is it that you are at the 
window ? ” 

“ I am waiting for the hearse to carry me away.” 

Scarcely had she said this when the Baby disap¬ 
peared and the window closed without making any 
noise. 

“Oh, beautiful Baby with the Blue Hair,” cried 
Pinocchio, “open the door, for goodness’ sake! 
Have compassion on a poor boy followed by 
assass—” But he could not finish the word be¬ 
cause he felt himself seized by the neck and he 
heard the two bad voices scolding him and crying, 
“Now you can run away no more.” 

The marionette, seeing death staring him in 
the face, trembled ; so that all his joints made 




66 


PINOCCHIO 




a great noise and the four gold pieces jingled in 
his mouth. 

“ Then,” said the assassins, “will you open your 
• mouth ? Yes or no ? Ah, you do not reply ? All 
right! This time we will open it! ” And they 
took two knives, sharp as razors, and — zajf T zaff 
— they gave him two strokes in the middle of 
the back. 

Fortunately the marionette was made of good 
hard wood. The blades of the knives broke into 
several pieces and the assassins were left looking 
at each other, with only the handles in their hands. 

“I understand,” said one of them. “We must 
hang him. Let us hang him, then.” 

“ Let us hang him,” said the other. 























PINOCCHIO 


6/ 


No sooner said than done. They bound his 
hands and, slipping a noose around his throat, 
hanged him to a branch of a tree called the Grand 
Oak. Then they sat down on the ground, waiting 
until the marionette should make his last kick. 
After three hours, however, the marionette’s eyes 
were still open and his mouth was closed, and he 
kicked harder than ever. 

Finally, annoyed by this long delay, they turned 
to Pinocchio and said to him, laughing out loud: 
“ Good-by until to-morrow morning! When we 
return here we hope that you will be polite enough 
to die and have your mouth opened wide.” And 
they went away. 

Meanwhile a great wind began to blow Pinoc¬ 
chio backward and forward, just like a large bell. 
And while he was swinging the rope tightened 
and tightened so that he could hardly swallow. 
Little by little his eyes grew dim. Although 
he felt death approaching, yet he hoped every 
moment that some one would come and save him. 
But when he found that no one would help him 
he remembered his poor papa and stammered, 
“Oh, my Papa, if you were only here now!” 
But he had no breath to say any more. He closed 
his eyes, opened his mouth, stretched his legs, 
and, with a last shudder, remained as if dead. 




CHAPTER XVI 


While poor Pinocchio hung from the branch of the 
Grand Oak and appeared more dead than alive, the 
beautiful Baby with the Blue Hair came to the win¬ 
dow. Pitying the poor unfortunate who was swing¬ 
ing backward and forward, she clapped her hands 
three times. At this signal the beating of wings 
was heard and a great Falcon came and placed him¬ 
self on the window sill. 

“What do you command, my gracious Fairy?” 
said the Falcon, lowering his beak in a bow of 
reverence. For you must know that the Baby with 

68 




PINOCCHIO 


69 


the Blue Hair was none other than a beautiful fairy, 
who for more than a thousand years had lived in 
the neighborhood of this forest. 

“ Do you see that marionette hanging on yonder 
Grand Oak?” 

“ I see him.” 

“ Fly quickly there and untie with your strong 
beak the knot that holds him suspended and lay him 
gently on the ground.” 

The Falcon flew away and after two minutes 
returned, saying, “ That which you have com¬ 
manded is done.” 

“How did you find him — alive or dead ? ” 

“ He appeared to be dead, but he cannot really 
be so. Scarcely had I untied the knot and laid 
him gently on the ground when he gave a sigh and 
said, ‘Now I feel better/” 

Then the Fairy clapped her hands twice and a 
Bearded Dog appeared, walking on his hind legs, 
just like a man. The Bearded Dog was dressed in 
livery. He had a cap trimmed with gold lace and 
a white curly wig that came down to his neck. He 
wore a dress coat of chocolate color, with buttons 
of brilliants and two big pockets to hold bones. 
He had a pair of short boots of crimson velvet and 
he carried behind him a sort of umbrella cover in 
which he put his tail when it rained. 



7 o 


PINOCCHIO 


“ My brave Fido,” said the Fairy to the Bearded 
Dog, “go quickly, hitch up the most beautiful car¬ 
riage in my stables and take the road to the forest. 
When you arrive under the Grand Oak you will find 
stretched out on the ground a poor marionette, half 
dead. Take him up carefully and bring him here. 
Do you understand ? ” 

The Bearded Dog, in order to make himself under¬ 
stood, shook the cover to his tail three or four times 
and departed in a flash. A little while afterward 
a beautiful transparent carriage, all trimmed with 
canary-bird feathers and lined inside with cream- 
colored cloth, was seen to come from the stables. 
It was drawn by one hundred pairs of white mice 
and the Bearded Dog sat on the box and cracked 
his whip from right to left as a coachman always 
does when he fears he shall be late. 

A quarter of an hour had hardly passed when the 
carriage returned. The Fairy, who waited at the 
door, took the marionette in her arms and carried 
him to a little bed of mother-of-pearl, which she 
had prepared for him. Then she sent immediately 
for three doctors. They soon arrived, one after the 
other. They were a Crow, an Owl, and a Talking 
Cricket. 

“ I should like to know from you, gentlemen,” 
said the Fairy, turning to the three doctors who 



t 


4 



71 




































72 


PINOCCHIO 


surrounded the bed of Pinocchio, — “I should like 
to know if this unhappy marionette is dead or alive.” 

At this invitation the Crow stepped forward, 
tested the pulse of Pinocchio, tested his nose, and 
then his little toe. When he had tested him thor¬ 
oughly he pronounced these words: “ It is my 



belief that the marionette is quite dead ; but if 
through some awkwardness he should not be dead, 
then it would be a sure sign that he is alive.” 

“ It pains me,” said the Owl, “to have to contra¬ 
dict the Crow, my illustrious friend and colleague. 
To me, however, the marionette is quite alive; but 
if through some awkwardness he should not be 
alive, then it would be a sure sign that he is dead.” 










PINOCCHIO 


73 


“ And have you nothing to say ? ” said the Fairy 
to the Talking Cricket. 

“ I say that a prudent doctor should be quiet 
when he does not know what to say. Besides, 
that marionette has a familiar face. I know him 
a little.” 

Pinocchio, who until then had been as immovable 
as a piece of wood, began to tremble so violently 
that he shook the bed. 

“That marionette,” continued the Talking Cricket, 
“is a good for nothing.” 

Pinocchio opened his eyes and then closed them 
suddenly. 

“ He is a scamp, a rogue, a vagabond.” 

Pinocchio hid his face under the covers. 

“That marionette is a disobedient child who is 
killing his poor papa.” 

At this point crying and sobbing were heard in 
the room. Imagine how surprised everybody was 
when the covers were pulled down and the crying 
and sobbing were found to come from Pinocchio! 

“When the dead cry,” said the Crow, “it is a 
sign that they are on the road to recovery.” 

“ It grieves me to contradict my illustrious friend 
and colleague,” added the Owl, “ but to my mind, 
when the dead cry it is a sign that they do not 
want to die.” 



CHAPTER XVII 


Scarcely had the three doctors left the room 
when the Fairy approached Pinocchio, and after 
touching his forehead perceived that he had taken 
a fever of not saying anything. * 

Then she put a little bit of white powder in a 
glass of water and, handing it to the marionette, 
said to him sweetly, “ Drink, and in a few days 
you will be cured.” Pinocchio looked at the glass, 
made a mouth, then with a voice full of sobs said, 
“ Is it sweet or bitter ? ” 

“ It is bitter, but it will do you good.” 

“ If it is bitter, I do not want it.” 

“ Listen to me ; drink it.” 

“ I do not like bitter things.” 

“ Drink it ; and when you have drunk it I will 
give you a little ball of sugar to take the taste out 
of your mouth.” 

“ Where is the ball of sugar ? ” 

74 















PINOCCHIO 


75 


“ Here it is,” said the Fairy, taking out a ball of 
sugar. 

“ First I want the ball of sugar; then I will 
drink the bitter water.” 

“ You promise me ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

The Fairy gave him the sugar, and Pinocchio, 
after having crushed it to atoms, said, licking his 
lips, “ How nice ! If sugar could only be medicine, 
I would take it all day long.” 

“Now keep your promise and drink these few 
bitter drops. They will cure you.” 

Pinocchio unwillingly took the glass in his hand 
and put it under his nose; then he put it to his 
lips ; then he put it under his nose again. Finally 
he said: “It is too bitter! It is too bitter! I 
cannot drink it.” 

“ How can you say that when you have not 
tasted it ? ” 

“ I know. I smell it. I want another ball of 
sugar first; then I will drink it.” 

So the Fairy, with the patience of an indulgent 
mamma, placed in his mouth another ball of sugar 
and then gave him the glass again. “ I cannot drink 
it,” said the marionette, making numerous grimaces. 

“Why?” 

“Because that pillow on my feet annoys me.” 



;6 


PINOCCHIO 


The Fairy took the pillow away. 

“ It is useless, I cannot drink it even now.” 

“ What troubles you now ? ” 

“That door is half open.” 

The Fairy went and closed the door. 

“Really,” cried Pinocchio, breaking forth into 
tears, “I cannot drink that bitter water! No, no, no!” 

“ My child, you will be sorry.” 

“ I do not care.” 

“ Your fever is bad.” 

“ I do not care.” 

“ The fever will carry you in a few hours to 
another world.” 

“ I do not care.” 

“ Have you no fear of death ? ” 

“ No. I have no fear. I would rather die than 
take that bad medicine.” 

Just at that moment the door of the room opened 
and four Rabbits, black as ink, entered, carrying on 
their shoulders a coffin. “What do you want with 






PINOCCHIO 


77 


me ? ” cried Pinocchio, straightening himself up in 
his bed. 

“ We have come to take you away,” replied the 
largest Rabbit. 

“ To take me away ? But I am not dead ! ” 

“ Not now, no ; but you have only a few more 
moments of life, having refused to drink the medi¬ 
cine that would cure your fever.” 

“ Oh, my Fairy! oh, my Fairy! ” screamed the 
marionette; “ give me the glass quickly. Send 
them away; for I do not wish to die.” And he 
took the glass in both hands and swallowed the 
medicine at one gulp. 

“ Oh, pshaw ! ”said the Rabbit; “ we have made 
this trip for nothing.” And placing the coffin on 
their shoulders again, the Rabbits went out of the 
room grumbling and muttering between their teeth. 

The fact was that a few moments later Pinocchio 
jumped down from the bed well and strong; for 
you must know that wooden marionettes have the 
advantage of rarely being sick, and when they are 
they get well quickly. The Fairy, seeing him run 
through the room as lively and bright as a little 
chicken just out of its shell, said to him, “Then my 
medicine has cured you ? ” 

“ Yes, indeed ! It has brought me back to this 
world.” 



78 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Then why was it that you begged me not to 
make you drink it ? ” 

“ We boys are always that way. We have more 
fear of the medicine than of the sickness.” 

“ Shame on you! Boys ought to know that a 
good medicine taken in time may save them from 
serious trouble and perhaps from death.” 

“ Oh! another time I will not behave so badly. 
I will remember the black Rabbits with the coffin 
on their shoulders and then I will take the medi¬ 
cine quickly.” 

“ Now come here and tell me how it happened 
that you fell into the hands of assassins.” 

“Well, it happened in this way. The manager 
of the marionettes, Fire Eater, gave me five pieces 
of gold and said to me, ‘ Take these to your poor 
papa.’ I met on the road a Fox and a Cat, two very 
nice persons, who said to me: ‘ Do you wish those 
pieces to become two thousand ? Come with us 
and we will take you to the Field of Miracles.’ I 
said, ‘ Let us go ’; and they said, ‘ Let us stop at 
the Red Lobster Inn, and after midnight we will 
continue our journey.’ When I awoke I found that 
they had gone. I then began to walk alone in the 
dark and I met two coal sacks with assassins inside 
who said to me, 4 Give us your money.’ I said, ‘ I 
have none ’; I hid the gold pieces in my mouth. 



PINOCCHIO 


79 


One of the assassins tried to force my mouth open 
with a knife, but I seized his hand and bit it off 
and spat it out, when, instead of a hand, I found 
it was the paw of a Cat. The assassins ran after 
me until they caught me. They hanged me to a 
tree, saying, ‘To-morrow we will come back, and 
then you will be dead and your mouth will be 
opened; and thus we shall be able to get the gold 
that is hidden under your tongue. 

“ And where have you put the four 
pieces of gold now?” 
asked the Fairy. 

“ I have .lost them,” 
replied Pinocchio. But he 
told a story; for he had 
them in his pocket. 

Scarcely had he told 
the story when his nose, 
which was already long, 
grew two fingers longer. 

“ And where did you lose them ? ” 

“ In the forest.” 

At this second story his nose grew 
still longer. 

“ If you have lost them in the forest, we will 
look for them and find them, because all that is 
lost in my forest is always found again.” 







8o 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Oh, now I remember well,” replied Pinocchio; 
“ the four pieces of money were swallowed when I 
took that medicine.” 

At this third story the nose grew so long that 
poor Pinocchio could not turn himself round in 
the room. If he turned to one side, it struck the 
bed or the glass in the window; if he turned to 
the other side, it struck the walls or the door of 
the room; if he raised his head, he ran the risk 
of putting out one of the Fairy’s eyes. 

And the Fairy looked and laughed. 

“Why do you laugh?” asked the marionette, 
quite confused and surprised because his nose had 
grown so long. 

“ I laugh at the stories you have told.” 

“ How do you know that I have told stories ? ” 

“ Stories, my boy, are recognized immediately, 
because there are two kinds: there are stories that 
have short legs and stories that have long noses. 
Yours are the kind that have a long nose.” 

Pinocchio, not knowing where to hide himself 
for shame, tried to get out of the room, but he 
did not succeed. His nose had grown so large 
that he could not go through the door. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



What do you think ? The Fairy let 
the marionette cry and weep for a good 
half hour because he could not go 
through the door on account of the 
length of his nose. She did this be¬ 
cause she wished to teach him a lesson and correct 
that ugly vice of telling stories. But when she saw 
him so disfigured, his eyes nearly out of his head 
with desperation, she was moved to pity and struck 
her hands together. At that signal about a thou¬ 
sand birds called Woodpeckers flew into the room 
and, placing themselves on Pinocchio’s nose, picked 
at it so hard that in a few minutes it was reduced 
to its usual size. 

“How good you are, my Fairy ! ” said the mario¬ 
nette, drying his eyes, “and how I like you ! ” 

“I like you too,” replied the Fairy, “and if you 
will remain with me, you shall be my little brother 
and I will be your little sister.” 

“ I will stay willingly — but my poor papa ! ” 

81 


82 


PINOCCHIO 


“ I have thought of everything; your father has 
been told already and before night he will be here.” 

“ Truly?” cried Pinocchio, jumping with joy. 
“ Then, my Fairy, if you are willing, I should like 
to go to meet him. I cannot wait to kiss that good 
old man, who has suffered so much for me.” 

“ Go, but do not lose your way. Take the road 
to the forest and I am sure you will find him.” 

Pinocchio departed. As soon as he entered the 
forest he began to run like a deer. But when he 
arrived at a certain point, nearly in front of the 
Grand Oak, he stopped because he thought he 
heard some one. Indeed, he saw on the road — 
whom, do you suppose?—the Fox and the Cat, that 




PINOCCHIO 


83 


is, the two companions with whom he supped at the 
inn called the Red Lobster. 

“ Here is our dear friend Pinocchio! ” cried the 
Fox, hugging and kissing him. “ How did you ever 
get here ? ” 

“How did you ever get here?” repeated the Cat. 

“It is a long story,” said the marionette, “and 
I will tell you when I have time. You know the 
night when you left me alone at the Inn I met some 
assassins on the road.” 

“Assassins ? Oh, my poor friend ! and what did 
they want ?” 

“ They wished to rob me of my money.” 

“ Infamous ! ” said the Fox. 

“Most infamous ! ” said the Cat. 

“But I started to run,” continued the mario¬ 
nette, “and they ran after me until they caught 
me and hanged me to a branch of that large oak.” 
And Pinocchio pointed to the Grand Oak that was 
not far away. 

“ One could not imagine anything worse,” said 
the Fox. “ In what a world are we condemned to 
live ! Where shall we find a secure refuge, we 
gentlemen of leisure?” 

While they talked thus Pinocchio perceived that the 
Cat limped and that he lacked a right forepaw; so 
he asked him, “ What has happened to your foot ? ” 



8 4 


PINOCCHIO 


The Cat wished to reply but became confused. 
Then the Fox said quickly : “ My friend is too 
modest, and that is why he does not respond. I 
will reply for him. Know, then, that an hour ago 
we met on the road an old Wolf, nearly fainting 
with hunger, who asked for a little help. Not hav¬ 
ing any money with us, not even the scale of a fish, 
what do you think my friend did? He has the 
heart of a Caesar. He bit off his paw and threw 
it to the poor beast, so that he might have some¬ 
thing to eat.” And the Fox in saying this dried 
a tear. 

Pinocchio, also moved, approached the Cat and* 
whispered in his ear, “If all the cats were like you, 
the mice would be happy.” 

“ And now what are you doing in this place ? ” 
asked the Fox. 

“ I am waiting for my papa, who may arrive at 
any moment.” 

“ And your money, where is that ? ” 

“ I have it all, less the piece I spent at the inn 
called the Red Lobster.” 

“ And to think that instead of four pieces they 
might become two thousand by to-morrow! Why 
did you not follow my advice ? Why do you not 
sow them in the Pheld of Miracles ? ” 

“ To-day it is impossible. I will go another time.” 



PINOCCHIO 


85 


“ Another time will be too late,” said the Fox. 

“ Why ? ” 

“ Because that field has been bought by a rich 
man, and after to-morrow no one will be permitted 
to sow there any more.” 

“How far is the P'ield of Miracles from here ?” 

“ Hardly two miles. Will you come with us ? 
In half an hour we shall be there. You can sow the 
money quickly, and after a few moments you can 
return home with your pockets full. Will you come 
with us ? ” 

Pinocchio hesitated a little because he thought 
of the good Fairy, of old Geppetto, and of the ad¬ 
vice of the Talking Cricket; but, after the fashion 
of foolish, heartless boys, he finally yielded. With 
a shake of his head he said to the Fox and the Cat, 
“ Come on, I will go with you.” And they started. 

After having walked half a day they arrived at 
a city called Stupid-catchers. As soon as they 
entered the city Pinocchio saw all the streets full 
of sick dogs that gaped for food ; clipped sheep 
that shook from the cold ; featherless chickens that 
begged for alms ; big butterflies that could not fly 
any more because they had sold their beautiful 
colors for a few pennies and were ashamed to be 
seen ; and pheasants that limped, bewailing their 
brilliant gold and silver feathers now lost forever. 



86 


PINOCCHIO 


In the middle of the crowd of beggars and un¬ 
fortunates they passed from time to time several 
fine carriages filled with people, each of whom 



turned out to be a Fox or a thieving Magpie or a 
Bird of Prey. 

“Where is the Field of Miracles?” asked 
Pinocchio. 

“ Only a few steps farther.” 

And so it proved. They walked through the 
city and outside the walls they stopped in a field 
which looked much like other fields. No one was 
in sight. 



PINOCCHIO 


S; 


“ Here we are at last,” said the Fox. “Now stoop 
down and dig a hole and put the money inside.” 

Pinocchio obeyed, dug a hole, put in the money, 
and then covered it over with earth. 

“Now then,” said the Fox, “go to that well and 
take a little water and sprinkle the ground where 
you have sown.” 

Pinocchio went to the well. Because he had 
nothing in which to carry water, he took his shoe 
and, filling it, came back and sprinkled the spot 
where he had sown the money. Then he asked, 
“Is there anything else ? ” 

“ Nothing else,” replied the Fox. “ Now we shall 
go away. You may return here in about twenty 
minutes and you will find a large vine with its 
branches covered with money.” 

The poor marionette, nearly crazy with joy, 
thanked the Fox and the Cat a thousand times and 
promised them a beautiful present. 

“We wish nothing,” they replied. “To us it is 
enough to have taught others the way to get rich 
without doing anything; and we are as contented 
as can be.” 

Thus saying, they bowed to Pinocchio and, wish¬ 
ing him a good harvest, went away. 



CHAPTER XIX 


The marionette, returning to the city, began to 
count the minutes one by one. When he thought 
it was time to go back he took the road that led to 
the Field of Miracles. And while he walked along 
his heart beat in his bosom like a big hall clock — 
tic-tac-tic-tac. Meanwhile he was thinking to him- * 
self : “And if, instead of two thousand, I should find 
five thousand ? Oh, what a rich man I should be ! 

I would have a palace and a thousand wooden horses 
and carriages to amuse me; I would have a cellar 
filled with good things, a library filled with candy, 
Dutch cake, almond cake, and cinnamon stick.” 

Thus imagining, he arrived at the field. He 
stopped to look for the large vine with many 
branches, but he saw nothing. He took a few 
steps more. Nothing. He entered the field and 
went right to the hole where he had planted his 
money. Nothing. Then he became thoughtful 
and, pulling his hand out of his pocket, began to 
scratch his head. 


88 


PINOCCHIO 


89 


In the meantime he heard a whistling in his ears 
like some one laughing. Looking up, he saw on a 
tree a big Parrot who was preening his feathers. 

“Why do you laugh?” asked Pinocchio in an 
angry voice. 

“ I laugh because in cleaning my feathers I 
tickled myself under my wings.” 

The marionette did not reply. He went to the well 
and, carrying some water, sprinkled again the place 
where he had buried his money. When he did this 
he heard a laugh more impertinent than the first one. 
It sounded very loud in the solitude of the field. 

“Well,” said Pinocchio, wrathfully, “tell me, if 
you can, ignorant Parrot, why you laugh now.” 

“ I laugh at those silly heads who believe every¬ 
thing that is told them.” 

“ Do you refer to me ? ” 

“Yes, I speak of you, poor Pinocchio. You are 
foolish enough to think that money, if sowed prop¬ 
erly, will grow like grain and plants. I thought so 
once, and in consequence I have to-day very few 
feathers. Now that it is too late to mend matters, 
I have made up my mind that in order to get to¬ 
gether a few pennies it is necessary to work with 
your hands or invent something with your head.” 

“ I do not understand,” said the marionette, who 
already began to tremble with fear. 




90 


PINOCCHIO 


“ I will explain better,” said the Parrot. ‘‘Know, 
then, that while you were in the city the Fox and 
the Cat returned here. They took the money and 
then fled like the wind. And now they cannot be 
caught.” 

Pinocchio remained with his mouth wide open. 
Unwilling to believe the words of the Parrot, he 
began with his hands and nails to dig out the dirt 
where he had planted his money. And he dug 
and dug and dug until he had made a hole large 
enough for a haystack; but the money was not 
there. 

In desperation he returned to the town. There 
he went before the tribunal and denounced the 
highwaymen who had stolen his money. 

The judge was a Monkey of the race of Gorilla. 
He was old and looked respectable on account of 
his white beard, and especially so on account of his 
gold eyeglasses with no glass in them. These he 
wore continually on account of a weakness of the 
eyes, which had troubled him for many years. 

Pinocchio told the judge everything; gave the 
names and addresses of the highwaymen, and fin¬ 
ished by asking for justice. 

The judge listened with much dignity. He took 
a lively interest in the story and seemed quite 
moved. When the marionette had no more to say, 



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92 


PINOCCHIO 


the judge stretched out his hand and rang the bell. 
At that sound two large mastiff dogs entered, 
dressed like soldiers. Then the judge, pointing to 
Pinocchio, said to them: “ This poor idiot has had 
his money stolen. Take him and put him in prison.” 

The marionette, hearing this sentence, began to. 
protest; but the mastiffs, not wishing to waste 
time, covered his mouth and led him to a cell. 

And there he remained four months and would 
have been there much longer if something fortunate 
had not happened. You must know, little readers, 
that the young emperor of the city called Stupid- 
catchers had just won a brilliant victory over his 
enemies. So he ordered a grand festival, fireworks 
and all sorts of parades, and to further celebrate 
his victory he opened all the prisons and liberated 
the convicts. 

“ If the other prisoners go out, I must go out 
too,” said Pinocchio to the guard. 

“You?” replied the guard; “no, because you 
are not a convict.” 

“ Excuse me,” replied Pinocchio, “ I am as bad 
as any of them.” 

“ In that case you are right,” said the guard; 
and raising his hat respectfully and saluting him, 
he opened the door of his cell and allowed him to 
escape. 




CHAPTER XX 

Just imagine how happy Pinocchio was when he 
felt himself free! It is impossible to tell it. He 
quickly left the city and took the road that led to 
the house of the Fairy. 

The roads were all soft because it had rained, 
and at every step he went up to his knees in mud. 
But he did not let that stop him. Wild with long¬ 
ing to see again his papa and his dear little sister 
with the blue hair, he ran and jumped on the dry 
places like a hare, and in running he splashed the 
mud all over his clothes and hat. 

While he went along he thought: “ How unfor¬ 
tunate I have been ! But I deserve it all, because 
93 


94 


PINOCCHIO 


I am a headstrong and touchy marionette. I always 
wish to do things my way, without paying any 
attention to those who love me and who are a thou¬ 
sand times wiser than I. But from now on I will 
change my life and become a good, obedient boy. 
I have found out that boys who are disobedient 
always lose in the long run. And my poor papa 
has waited for me so long! I shall find him at 
the house of the Fairy. It is so long since I have 
seen him that I will give him a thousand hugs and 
kisses. And the Fairy will pardon my naughtiness 
in going away. To think that I have received 
from her so much goodness and kindness! And 
to think also that I owe my life to her! But no 
one can be more thankful than I am.” 

He had scarcely said this last word when he 
stopped suddenly, very much frightened, and made 
four paces backward. What do you think he saw ? 
— a big serpent stretched out on the road ! It had 
a green skin, eyes of fire, and a tail that smoked at 
the end just like a chimney! 

It is impossible to imagine the fear of the mario¬ 
nette, who, going some distance away, sat down 
on a heap of stones and waited for the serpent-to 
go away so that the road would be left free. He 
waited one hour, two hours, three hours ; but the 
serpent did not move. Pinocchio could see nothing 



PINOCCHIO 


95 


but the eyes of fire and the smoking tail. Then, 
screwing up his courage, the marionette approached 
within a few paces of the serpent and said in a 
kind, sweet voice: “ Excuse me, Mr. Serpent; would 
you oblige me by moving to one side so that I can 
pass ? ” It was as if he talked to a wall. There 
was no response. 

Then Pinocchio said in the same kind tone: 
“You must know, Mr. Serpent, that I am going 
home, where my papa is waiting for me. Are you 
willing that I should pass and go on my way ? ” 

He waited for some sign of response, but the 
reply did not come. On the contrary, the serpent, 
which until then had been quite lively, became 
quiet and nearly benumbed. His. eyes closed and 
his tail stopped smoking. 

“ He is dead, truly,” thought Pinocchio, rubbing 
his hands with satisfaction. Without waiting any 
longer, he started to jump over him so as to pass 
to the other side. But he had hardly lifted his leg 
when the serpent rose suddenly, like a spring let 
loose. The marionette, trying to jump back, tripped 
and fell to the ground with such force that he landed 
with his head half stuck in the mud and his feet in 
the air. 

At the sight of the marionette kicking his legs 
with incredible velocity the serpent was seized with 



96 


PINOCCHIO 


convulsions of laughter. He laughed and laughed 
and laughed with such force that he broke a blood 
vessel and died. 

Then Pinocchio started again to run along the 
road, hoping to reach the house of the Fairy before 
dark. Along the way, however, he was overcome 



by hunger. So he jumped into a field to see if he 
could find a bunch of grapes. Here, too, he was 
unfortunate. 

As soon as he arrived under the vine — crac — 
he felt his legs caught by two pieces of iron that 
made him see several new stars in the heavens. 
The poor marionette found himself fast in a trap 
which had been placed there by a farmer in order 
to catch a thieving polecat of the neighborhood. 




CHAPTER XXI 

Pinocchio, you may well believe, began to cry and 
scream ; -but it was useless because there was not 
a house near him and no one passed along the road. 
In the meantime night came on. The trap hurt 
him so much, and he was so afraid of the dark, 
that he nearly fainted with pain and fright. Sud¬ 
denly he saw a firefly, and he called out to it, “ O 
Firefly, will you help me to get away from here?” 

“ Poor boy! ” replied the Firefly, stopping to look 
at Pinocchio; “ how did you ever get your legs 
caught in that trap ? ” 

“ I came into the field in order to get a bunch 
of grapes and —” 

“ But are the grapes yours ? ” 

- No.” 


97 




98 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Then who has taught you to steal other people’s 
things? ” 

“ I was hungry.” 

“ Hunger, my boy, is not a good reason for steal¬ 
ing anybody’s things.” 

“That is true! that is true!” cried Pinocchio, 
weeping; “and another time I will not do it.” 

Just here the conversation was interrupted by 
the sound of footsteps that came nearer and nearer. 
The owner of the field had come on tiptoe to see 
if one of the polecats that ate his chickens at 
night had been caught. He was greatly surprised 
when, taking out a dark lantern, he saw, instead 
of a polecat, a boy. 

“Ah, you little thief!” said the angry farmer. 
“ Then you are the one that carries away my 
chickens ! ” 

“I? No,” cried Pinocchio, sobbing. “I went 
into the field for a bunch of grapes.” 

“He who steals grapes is also capable of stealing 
chickens. Leave it to me ; I will give you a lesson 
that you will remember for some time.” 

He opened the trap, took the marionette by the 
back of the neck like a kitten, and carried him 
to his house. When he reached his door he said to 
Pinocchio: “Now it is late and I want to go to 
bed. We will settle our affairs to-morrow. Mean- 



PINOCCHIO 


99 


while, as my dog died to-day, I will put you into 
his house. I will make you my watchdog.” 

No sooner said than done. He took a dog collar 
and put it on Pinocchio’s neck. Attached to this 
collar was a chain that was fastened to the wall. 

“ If it begins to rain to-night,” said the farmer, 
“ there is some straw inside that has served as a 
bed for the dog for four years. You may go in and 
rest there. And if robbers come into the yard, 
remember to watch them carefully and to bark.” 

After this last warning the farmer entered his 
house, closing the door noisily; and the poor mario¬ 
nette was left squatting in the barnyard more dead 
than alive from cold, hunger, and fear. From 
time to time he placed his hands between his collar 
and his neck because the collar hurt him, saying to 
himself as he did so: “I deserve it all. I wanted 
to run away. I wanted to listen to the advice of 
bad companions, and that is the reason why I am so 
unhappy. If I had been a good boy as so many 
boys are, if I had wished to study and to work, if 
I had remained at home with my papa, I should not 
find myself here now, sleeping in a dog house and 
watching a chicken coop ! Oh, if only I could 
begin all over again ! But now it is too late.” 

Having thought all this, he entered the dog house 
and fell asleep. 


LelC. 



CHAPTER XXII 


After he had slept two hours he was awakened 
at midnight by a whispering which sounded like 
/fist! pist! It appeared to come from the barn¬ 
yard. He put his nose out of the hole in the dog 
house and saw four little beasts that looked like 
cats. But they were not cats ; they were Polecats, 
— carnivorous animals who eat eggs and young 
chickens. - One of the Polecats, leaving his com¬ 
panions, went to the hole in the dog house and said 
in a low voice, “ Good evening, Bruno.” 

“ I am not called Bruno.” 

“ Oh, then, who are you ? ” 

“ I am Pinocchio. ” 

“ What are you doing here ? ” 

“ I am playing watchdog.” 

“ Oh, where is Bruno ? Where is the old dog 
that lived in this house? ” 

“ He died this morning.” 

















PINOCCHIO 


IOI 


“ Dead ? Poor beast! He was so good ! But 
judging from your face you are also a nice dog.” 

“ Excuse me, I am not a dog.” 

“ What are you ? ” 

“ I am a marionette.” 

“ And you play watchdog ? ” 

“ Yes, it is true ; I do so for a punishment.” 

“ Well, I propose to you the same agreement 
that I had with the dead Bruno. Are you willing? ” 
“ What are the conditions ? ” 

“ We will come here once a week, as we have 
done in the past, to pay a nocturnal visit to this 
chicken house ; and we will carry away eight chick¬ 
ens. Of these we will eat seven and give you one, 
on condition — understand well — that you will 
pretend to sleep and not come out and bark and 
thus awaken the farmer.” 

“ And Bruno did that ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“ Oh, yes, and we got along very nicely. You sleep 
quietly and you may be sure that before we go away 
we will leave a nice fat chicken for your breakfast to¬ 
morrow morning. Do we understand each other ? ” 
“ Very well,” replied Pinocchio. But he shook 
his head as if he would have said, “ In a little while 
we will talk about this again.” 

When the four Polecats felt that they were free 
from harm they walked toward the chicken coop, 



102 


PINOCCHIO 


which was very near the dog house. They opened 
the door with their teeth and nails and filed in one 
by one. But they were hardly inside when they 
heard the door close with a bang. 

Who was it that had closed the door ? Why, it 
was Pinocchio, who, not contented with the latch 
that held the door, placed a big stone there besides. 
And then he began to bark, and he barked just 
like a watchdog — bu! bu! bu! bu! 

At that sound the farmer jumped out of bed, 
took his gun, and, coming to the window, said, 
“ What is the matter ? ” 

“The robbers are here,” cried Pinocchio. 

“ Where are they? ” 

“ In the chicken coop.” 

“I will come down right away.” 

Before any one could say “ Amen ” the farmer 
descended. After he had caught and put into a 
sack the four Polecats, he looked at the sack with 
genuine satisfaction and said : “ You, then, are the 
ones who have been stealing my chickens! I 
ought to punish you, but you are too vile. I will 
content myself instead with carrying you to the 
inn near by, where they will skin you and use your 
fur for warm mittens. It is an honor you do not 
deserve, but generous men do not mind taking 
this little trouble.” 



PINOCCHIO 


103 


Then, approaching Pinocchio, he caressed him, 
and among other things asked him : “ How did you 
ever catch these four robbers ? And to think that 
Bruno, my good and faithful Bruno, could not do 
it!” 

The marionette then would have told all he knew 
about the shameful contract between the dog and 
the Polecats; but remembering that the dog was 
dead, he said to himself : “Why should I accuse the 
dead ? The dead are dead and the best thing to 
do is to leave them in peace.” 

“ Were you asleep when the Polecats came into 
the yard ? ” asked the farmer. 

“ I was asleep,” replied Pinocchio, “but they 
awoke me with their chattering, and one came to 
my house and said : ‘ If you promise not to bark 
and not to wake up the farmer, we will give you a 
nice fat chicken for a present.’ You understand? 
How could they have the face to say that to me ? 
I am only a marionette and have all the vices of 
marionettes, but I never enter into a contract with 
thieves.” 

“ Brave boy! ” cried the farmer, patting him on 
the shoulder. “ These sentiments do you honor, 
and to prove to you my great satisfaction I leave 
you free to return to your house.” 

And he took off the dog’s collar. 




CHAPTER XXIII 

As soon as Pinocchio was relieved from the 
weight of the hard and humiliating collar he started 
to run across the fields; and he did not stop one 
minute until he had reached the road that led to 
the house of the Fairy. 

When he reached the road he looked down on 
the forest where he had unfortunately met the Fox 
and the Cat, and there in the middle he saw the 
great oak to which they had hanged him. He 
looked in the direction of the little white house 
where the Fairy with the Blue Hair lived, but he 
could not find it at all. 

Then a feeling of sadness came over him. 
Nevertheless he ran as fast as his legs would take 
him and in a few minutes he reached the field 
where the little white house had stood. But the 
white house was there no more. There was instead 
104 




PINOCCHIO 


105 


a little marble slab on which were cut the follow¬ 
ing words : 

Here lies 

The Baby with the Blue Hair 
Dead with Grief 

For having been abandoned by her 
Little Brother Pinocchio. 

As he could not read he did not know what to 
do. The Talking Cricket happened to be near 
and read it for him. I leave you to imagine how 
the marionette felt when he understood the mean¬ 
ing of those words. He fell to the ground and, 
covering the marble slab with kisses, cried as if his 
heart would break. He cried all night and all the 
next morning, until he had no more tears left. His 
cries and sobs were so loud that all the hills round 
about repeated them. 

“ Oh, my little Fairy, why are you dead ? ” he 
cried. “ Why, instead of you, am I not dead ? 
Oh, my dear little Fairy, tell me where I can find 
my papa. I wish to be with him and never leave 
him any more. Oh, tell me that it is not true that 
you are dead. If you truly love me, if you like 
your little brother, come back! return to life! 
Does it not make you unhappy to see me left all 
alone by everybody? If the assassins come and 
hang me to a tree again, I shall die this time for 



io6 


PINOCCHIO 


sure. What can I do alone in this world, now 
that I have lost my papa and you ? Who will give 
me anything to eat ? Where shall I sleep at night ? 
Who will make my clothes ? Oh, it would be 
better, a hundred times better, that I should die 1 
Yes, I wish to die ! Ih ! ih ! ih ! ” 

While he despaired in this manner he wished to 
pull out his hair; but his hair being of wood he 
was not able to raise even a lock. 

A large Dove who was flying around, seeing the 
little marionette leaning on the marble slab, stopped, 
and, hovering in the air, said, “Tell me, my little 
boy, what are you doing down there ? ” 

“ Do you not see that I am crying ? ” said Pinoc- 
chio, raising his head toward the voice and drying 
his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. 

“Tell me/’ added the Dove, “do you not know 
among your companions a marionette who is called 
Pinocchio ? ” 

“ Pinocchio ? Did you say Pinocchio ? ” cried the 
marionette, jumping to his feet; “I am Pinocchio.” 

When the Dove heard this he flew down to the 
ground. He was as large as a turkey cock. 

“ Do you also know Geppetto ? ” asked the Dove. 

“ Do I know him ? He is my poor papa. Has 
he asked you about me ? Can you take me to 
him ? Is he alive ? Tell me, is he alive ? ” 



PINOCCHIO 


107 


“ I left him three days ago on the seashore.” 

“ What was he doing ? ” 

“ He was making a little boat in order to cross 
the ocean. For four months the poor man has 
been looking for you, and not being able to find 
you he began to build a boat and now he is going 
to look for you in another country.” 

“ How far is it to the shore ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“ A thousand miles.” 

“ A thousand miles ! Oh, Dove ! Oh, if only I 
had a pair of wings ! ” 

“ If you wish to go, I will carry you.” 

“ How?” 

“ On my back. Are you heavy ? ” 

“ No, indeed. I am as light as a feather.” 

And then without saying anything further, Pinoc¬ 
chio jumped on the back of the Dove and put a 
leg back of each wing just like a man on horseback. 
He then cried to the Dove, “All ready, go ! ” The 
Dove spread his wings and in a few moments they 
almost touched the clouds. Arriving at that ex¬ 
traordinary height, the marionette had the curiosity 
to turn around and look down. He was so scared 
when he took a view of the country below that he 
was obliged to put his arms around the Dove’s neck. 

They flew all day long. Toward evening the 
Dove said, “ I am very thirsty.” 









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W"h. 




108 







PINOCCHIO 


109 


“ I am very hungry,” added Pinocchio. 

“ Let us stop at this dove house a few minutes, 
and afterward we will start on our way again, so 
as to be at the shore to-morrow morning.” 

They entered a dove house which they found 
deserted except that there was a little basin of 
water and also a small basket of chick peas placed 
near the door. 

In all his life the marionette had never been able 
to eat chick peas; to hear the name always made 
him sick. But that night he ate them ravenously, 
and when he had nearly finished he turned to the 
Dove and said, “I would never have believed that 
chick peas could taste so good.” 

“ It is well to know, my boy,” replied the Dove, 
“ that when you are truly hungry even the chick 
pea seems delicious. Hunger has no whims or 
fancies.” 

Having eaten their lunch quickly, they started 
on their journey. The next morning they arrived 
on the seashore. 

The Dove placed Pinocchio on the ground, 
and, not wishing the annoyance of hearing him¬ 
self thanked for his good action, flew suddenly 
away and disappeared. 

The shore was crowded with people who were 
crying and gesticulating, looking toward the sea. 



I 10 


PINOCCHIO 


“What has happened?” asked Pinocchio of an 
old woman. 

“ There is an old man, who, having lost his little 
boy, ventured to go to sea to-day in search of him, 
and the water is so rough that we are afraid he will 
sink.” 

“ Where is the boat ? ” 

“There it is; follow my finger,” said the old 
lady, pointing to a little boat that from where they 
stood looked like a walnut shell with a very small 
man inside. 

“ It is my papa ! It is my papa ! ” 

Meanwhile the little boat, tossed around by the 
waves, now disappeared between the billows, now 
floated on top. Pinocchio, standing on a point of 
a high reef, called his papa by name and made 
many signals with his arms and finally with the 







PINOCCHIO 


11 I 


cap on his head. It appeared that Geppetto, 
although very far away from the shore, recognized 
him, because he raised his cap also and made it 
clearly understood that he would come to shore 
were it not that he was prevented by the heavy 
seas. 

All of a sudden there came a terrible wave and 
the boat disappeared. They waited on shore to 
see it rise but it was never seen again. 

“ Poor man! ” said the fishermen ; and, mum¬ 
bling a prayer* they went home. 

Then they heard a cry. Turning around, they 
saw a little boy on the top of a reef throw himself 
into the water. 

“ I want to save my papa,” he said. 

Pinocchio, being made of wood, floated easily, 
and he could swim like a fish. Now he was seen 
to disappear under the water, carried by the cur¬ 
rent ; now he appeared again, striking out against 
the waves. The fishermen watched him until he 
was so far from shore that they could not see him 
any longer. 

“ Poor boy ! ” they said ; and, mumbling another 
prayer, they went home. 



CHAPTER XXIV 


Animated by the hope of arriving in time to 
save his father, Pinocchio swam all night. And 
what a horrible swim that was ! It rained, hailed, 
thundered, and lightened so hard that the night 
appeared like day. 

In the morning he saw a shore line. It was an 
island in the middle of the sea. He tried to reach 
that sand bank, but it was useless. The waves 
tossed him about like a straw. At last, by good 
fortune, there came a tremendous wave that hurled 


12 







PINOCCHIO 


113 


him right upon the shore. The force with which 
he struck the ground was so great that it nearly 
broke his bones ; but he said, “ I have been very 
lucky to escape this time.” 

In the meantime the weather cleared. The sun 
appeared in all its splendor and the sea became as 
smooth as oil. Then the marionette laid his clothes 
out on the sand and sat in the sun to dry himself. 
He looked all around, but he saw nothing of the 
little boat that contained his papa. 

“ I should like to know the name of this island,” 
he said to himself. “ I should like to know, at 
least, if it is inhabited by kind people who do not 
hang boys to trees; but whom can I ask if there 
is no one here ? ” 

The idea of finding himself alone on an island in 
the sea made him very sad and he began to cry. 
Suddenly he saw, passing by not very far from 
shore, a large Fish, who went about his business 
quietly with his head above the water. The mario¬ 
nette called in a loud voice, so as to make himself 
heard, “ Hello, Mr. Fish! Will you allow me one 
word ? ” 

«Two,” replied the Fish, who was so polite a dol¬ 
phin that it would be hard to find his equal in the sea. 

“ Will you please tell me if in this island I can 
find something to eat without being eaten ? ” 



PINOCCHIO 


114 

«I am sure of it,” replied the Dolphin. “ You 
will find some people not far from here.” 

“ And what street must I take ? ” 

“Take that little road to the left and follow 
your nose. You cannot mistake it.” 

“Tell me, please, another thing. You travel 
so much in the sea, both day and night, that 
perhaps you have seen a little boat with my 
papa in it.” 

“ And who is your papa ? ” 

“ He is the best in the world, and I am the 
worst son that can possibly be.” 

“ With the terrible storm that we had last night 
the boat must have sunk.” 

“ And my papa ? ” 

“ By this time he must have been swallowed by 
the Dogfish who for several days has been play¬ 
ing havoc in these waters.” 

“Is the Dogfish very large ? ” asked Pinocchio, 
who already trembled with fear. 

“ Large ?” replied the Dolphin. “ Why, you can 
get an idea of him when I tell you that he is as 
large as a five-story house and his mouth is so big 
that he can swallow, at one gulp, a train of cars 
with the engine attached ! ” 

“ Oh, dear me!” cried the marionette, very 
much scared. Turning to the Dolphin, he said 



PINOCCHIO 


11 5 


hurriedly, “ Good-by, Mr. Pish; excuse me, and 
a thousand thanks for your kindness.” 

Having said this, Pinocchio took the little road 
and ran as quickly as he could. At every slight 
noise he heard he looked around, for fear he might 
be followed by the terrible Dogfish as big as a five- 
story house, and with a mouth large enough to 
swallow a train of cars with the engine attached. 

After having run for half an hour, he arrived at 
a little country called “ The Country of the Busy 
Bees.” The streets were filled with those who 
ran here and there attending to their little duties, 
everybody having something to do. 

“ I understand!” exclaimed that good-for-nothing 
Pinocchio. “This country is not for me. I was 
not born to work.” 

Meanwhile he was very hungry because he had 
eaten nothing for twenty-four hours, — not even a 
chick pea. What could he do ? There were only 
two ways to get food, — either to beg or to work for 
it. To ask for alms he was ashamed, because his 
papa had told him that the only ones who had a 
right to beg were the truly poor, sick, or blind. 
The poor deserve help as do those also who are too 
old to work. All the others must do something, 
and if they suffer from hunger it is the worse for 
them. 



PINOCCHIO 


116 


Just then there passed a man, all perspiring, who 
was pulling two wagons filled with coal. Pinocchio, 
judging from his face that he was a good man, 
lowered his eyes for shame, and said in an under¬ 



tone, “ Will you please give me a penny ? I am 
dying of hunger.” 

“ Not a cent,” replied the coal man ; “but I will 
give you five if you will help me pull this wagon 
up the hill.” 

“ I am surprised,” replied the marionette, almost 
offended. “ I was not made a mule ; I have never 
pulled a wagon in all my life.” 






PINOCCHIO 


ll 7 


“The worse for you!” replied the coal man. 
“Then, my boy, if you are dying with hunger, eat 
a couple of slices of your pride and take care that 
it does not give you indigestion.” 

After a few moments a bricklayer passed along, 
carrying on his shoulder a basket of lime. 

“Good gentleman, will you be kind enough to 
give a penny to a poor boy who is dying with 
hunger ?” 

“ Come with me, and I will give you five if you 
will carry a basket of lime for me.” 

“ But the lime is heavy,” replied Pinocchio, “and 
I do not want to get tired.” 

“ If you do not want to get tired, my boy, go 
hungry. Good-by.” 

In less than half an hour twenty other people 
walked by and they all said to Pinocchio: “ Shame 
on you ! Instead of finding a little work and earn¬ 
ing some money, you stand there and beg like a 
vagabond.” 

Finally along came a good woman who carried 
two pitchers of water. 

“Will you be so good as to give me a sip of 
water ? ” asked Pinocchio, who was burning with 
thirst. 

“Certainly, my boy,” said the good woman, 
placing the two pitchers on the ground. 



118 


PINOCCHIO 


When Pinocchio had drunk like a sponge he 
muttered, drying his mouth, “ If I could only eat 
as much as I drank ! ” 

The good woman, hearing these words, replied 
quickly, “ If you will help me carry one of these 
pitchers of water up the hill, I will give you a nice 
piece of bread.” 

Pinocchio looked at the pitchers of water and did 
not say Yes or No. 

“ And with the piece of bread I will give you a 
piece of cauliflower dipped in oil and vinegar.” 

Pinocchio gave another glance at the pitcher and 
did not say Yes or No. 

“ And after the cauliflower I will give you a piece 
of cake.” 

At this Pinocchio could resist no longer. He 
said, “ Pshaw! I will carry the pitcher to your 
home.” The pitcher was very heavy, and not being 
able to carry it with his hands he put it on his 
head. After they arrived at the house the good 
woman prepared the table and gave the marionette 
all that she had promised. Pinocchio did not eat; 
he gorged. His little stomach was so empty that 
one would think he had not eaten for a week. 

Calming his hunger little by little, he raised his 
head in order to thank his benefactress. Hardly had 
he looked at her when he uttered a long “ Oh-h-h-h! ” 



PINOCCHIO 


119 

of surprise. He remained seated as if transfixed, 
with his eyes opened wide, with his fork in the air, 
and with his mouth full of bread and cauliflower. 

“ What has caused this surprise ? ” the good 
woman asked, laughing. 

“ What! ” replied Pinocchio, stuttering. “ What! 
— how you resemble — yes ! yes ! yes ! — with the 
blue hair, too, just like her ! Oh, my little Fairy, tell 
me that it is you ! Do not let me cry any more! 
If you only knew how much I have cried ! — how 
much I have suffered ! ” 

And saying this, Pinocchio wept a flood of tears 
and, throwing himself on his knees, clung to the 
mysterious woman. 








the Blue Hair; but afterward, seeing that she was 
discovered and not wishing to prolong the comedy, 
she made herself known and said to Pinocchio: 
“ Scoundrel of a marionette! How did you ever 
think that it was I ? ” 

“ Because I like you so much. That is what 
told me.” 

“You remember me? You left me a baby and 
now you find me a woman so old that I might be 
your mamma.” 

“And I should like very much to call you so. 
I should like to have a mamma like all the other 
boys. But how did you grow up so quickly ? ” 

“ It is a secret.” 


120 





PINOCCHIO 


I 2 I 


“ Teach me how to do it. I should like to grow 
also.' Do you not see ? I am always the same 
height.” 

“ But you cannot grow.” 

“ Why ? ” 

“Because marionettes never grow. They are 
born marionettes, they live marionettes, and they 
die marionettes.” 

“ Oh, I am tired of being always a marionette,” 
cried Pinocchio, hitting himself on the head. “ I 
want to become a man.” 

“ And you will become one if you deserve to.” 

“ Truly ? And what can I do to deserve it ? ” 

“ That is easy. Accustom yourself to be a good 
boy.” 

“ Oh, that is what I am now! ” 

“Not at all. Boys that are good are obedient, 
and you instead — ” 

“And I never obey.” 

“ Good boys like to study and work, and you— ” 

“ I like to play and run around.” 

“ Good boys always tell the truth — ” 

“ And I always tell stories.” 

“ Good boys go to school willingly — ” 

“And to me school is a horrible thing. But 
from to-day I will change my life.” 

“ You promise me ? ” 



122 


PINOCCHIO 


“ I promise you. I want to become a good little 
boy and a comfort to my papa. Where is he at 
this time ? ” 

“ I do not know.” 

“ Shall I ever have the good fortune to see him 
again ? ” 

“ I believe so. Indeed, I am sure of it.” 

At this reply Pinocchio was so happy that he was 
nearly crazy with joy. Then, raising his face and 
looking at the Fairy lovingly, he said to her, “Tell 
me, Mamma ; is it true you are not dead ? ” 

“ It appears not,” replied the Fairy. 

“If you only knew with what grief I heard you 
were buried under that stone — ” 

“ I do know it; and that is why I forgive you. 
The sincerity of your grief proves that you have a 
good heart. There is always hope for boys with 
good hearts. Even if they sometimes act like 
scamps, there is always hope that they will finally 
get on the right road. That is why I have come 
here. I will be your mamma.” 

“ Oh, how nice ! ” said Pinocchio, jumping with 
joy. 

“Will you obey me and always do what I tell you? ” 
“ Willingly, willingly, willingly ! ” 

“ Then to-morrow,” said the Fairy, “ you will 
begin by going to school.” 



PINOCCHIO 


123 


Pinocchio became suddenly a little less lively. 

“After that you can choose a trade or some 
business.” 

Pinocchio became serious. 

“ What are you mumbling through your teeth ? ” 
asked the Fairy. 

“ I said that now it is a little late to go to 
school.” 

“ No, sir. Remember that it is never too late to 
learn.” 

“ But I do not wish to learn a trade.” 

“ Why?” 

“ Because to work makes me tired.” 

“ My boy, those who say that always end either 
in prison or in the almshouse. Every man, whether 
rich or poor, ought to work at something. Woe 
to the one that leaves himself to idleness ! Idleness 
is a very bad disease and should be cured quickly 
or else when you are old you will never get over it.” 

These words touched the soul of Pinocchio. 
Quickly raising his head, he said to the Fairy : “ I 
will study, I will work, I will do all you wish, 
because the life of a marionette is tiresome and I 
want to become a boy through and through. You 
have promised me that, have n’t you ? ” 

“I promise you; and now it depends upon how 
you behave.” 




CHAPTER XXVI 

The next day Pinocchio went to the public school. 
Just imagine how the little scholars behaved when 
they saw a marionette in their school! They 
laughed out loud. Several played jokes on him. 
One took off his cap ; another pulled his coat tails ; 
another tried to make a mustache under his nose 
with ink; and another tied strings to his arms and 
legs in order to make him dance. 

For a little while Pinocchio did not pay much 
attention to them, but finally, losing patience, he 
said: “ Take care! I have not come here to be 
your buffoon. I respect others and I wish to be 
respected.” 


124 





PINOCCHIO 


25 


“ Hurrah for the jester ! He speaks like a book,” 
shouted the little scamps, bursting forth into 
laughter. One of them, more impertinent than 
the others, stretched out his arm and tried to seize 
Pinocchio by the nose. But he did not have time 
because Pinocchio thrust his leg under the desk 
and gave him a kick on the shins. 

“ Oh, what hard feet he has ! ” cried the boy, 
rubbing the lumps that the marionette had made. 

“And what hard elbows!” said another, who for 
another trick had received a punch in the stomach. 
The fact is, that after several kicks and elbowings 
Pinocchio had the good will of all the boys in the 
school and they began to like him very much. 

The school-teacher, too, praised him because he 
was so attentive, studious, and intelligent, — always 
the first to enter the school, always the last to get 
up when it was over. The only mistake he made 
was that of going with too many companions, 
among whom were a few who did not care to study. 
The teacher warned him daily, and the good Fairy, 
too, added her words of advice, saying, “ Take care, 
Pinocchio! your companions will sooner or later 
make you lose your love for study and perhaps 
will bring misfortune upon you.” 

“There is no danger of that,” replied the mario¬ 
nette, shrugging his shoulders and touching his 



126 


PINOCCHIO 


forehead with his first finger as if he said, “ There 
is much wisdom inside.” 

Now it happened, one beautiful day as he was 
going to school, that he met some of his companions 
who said to him, “ Have you heard the news ? ” 

“ No.” 

“ There has floated on the beach not far from 
here a big dogfish as large as a mountain.” 

“Truly? Why, it may be the same one that 
swallowed my papa.” 

“ We are going to look at it. Will you come 
along ? ” 

“No. I want to go to school.” 

“Oh, pshaw! What do you care for school? 
We can go there to-morrow. One lesson more or 
less does not matter at all.” 

“ And the teacher, what will he say ? ” 

“ Oh, let him talk. He is paid to growl at boys 
all day long.” 

“ And my mamma ? ” 

“ The mammas never know anything,” said the 
wicked boys. 

“ Do you know what I will do ? ” said Pinocchio. 
“ I want to see the dogfish very much, so I will go 
after school.” 

“ Poor stupid thing! ” they said. “ Do you think 
that a dogfish of that size will wait for your slow 



PINOCCHIO 


127 


actions ? Why, he will go away, and then you 
will be sorry you did not go.” 

“ How much time will it take to go there ? ” 
asked the marionette. 

“ In an hour we shall be back.” 

“ Well, then, I will go. Come on ! The first one 
there is the best,” cried Pinocchio. 

With that signal to start they all began to run. 
Pinocchio was always the first in a race; he ran as 
if he had wings on his feet. From time to time he 
turned to look at his companions, who were some 
distance behind. Seeing them puffing and blowing 
and covered with dust, he laughed out loud. The 
poor ’ boy did not know what misfortune was in 
store for him. 





15 



CHAPTER XXVII 

Arriving at the shore, Pinocchio quickly looked 
up and down the coast, but there was no dogfish. 
The sea was as still and as shiny as a looking-glass. 

“ Where is the dogfish ? ” he asked, turning to 
his companions. 

“ It has gone to breakfast,” replied one of them, 
laughing. 

“ It may be that, being tired, he has gone to take 
a little nap,” said another, laughing still louder. 

From these replies Pinocchio understood that 
the boys had played a trick on him, making him 
believe a thing that was not true. He turned to 
them and said angrily, “And now, why did you tell 
me this nonsense about the dogfish ? ” 

“ Because we wanted to,” they replied in a chorus. 

“ But why ? ” 

“ Because we wanted you to lose a day at school. 
Are n’t you ashamed to go to school every day so 
128 



PINOCCHIO 


29 


steadily ? And then you are too studious. Why 
do you do it ? ” 

“ If I study, what business is that to you ? ” 

“Why, it means a great deal to us because it 
makes us look like bad boys before the teacher.” 

“ Why ? ” 

“ Because the scholars who study are always com¬ 
pared with those who do not; and we do not like 
it. That is all.” 

“ And what should I do in order to make you 
all right ? ” 

“You ought to hate school. Both the lessons 
and the teacher are boys.’ greatest enemies.” 

“ And if I wish to study, what will you do ? ” 

“ We will watch for you, and at the first oppor¬ 
tunity we will pay you up.” 

“You make me laugh,” said the marionette, 
shaking his head. 

“Take care, Pinocchio!” said the largest boy, go¬ 
ing up to him and shaking his fist under his nose. 
“ Do not make fun of us. Do not be so proud here 
because you have no fear of us. We have no fear of 
you. Remember you are alone. We are seven.” 

“ Seven, like the mortal sins,” said Pinocchio, 
with a burst of laughter. 

“ Did you hear him ? He has insulted us all. He 
has called us the seven mortal sins ! ” 



130 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Pinocchio, ask our pardon for your offenses; 
and if you will not, look out! ” 

“ Coo-coo,” said the marionette, striking the end 
of his nose with his first finger, as he made the 
sound of the bird. 

“ Pinocchio, will you ask pardon ? ” 

“ Coo-coo.” 

“ You are a mule.” 

“ Coo-coo.” 

“We will break your nose.” 

“ Coo-coo.” 

“ Now, Coo-coo, I will teach you a lesson ! ” cried 
one of them. “Take this home with you and re¬ 
member it while you are at supper.” And saying 
that, he struck Pinocchio on the head with his fist. 
But it was an exchange of blows, for the lively 
marionette ducked his head and replied suddenly 
with another blow, and then the fight became gen¬ 
eral. Pinocchio, although he was alone, defended 
himself like a hero. His hard wooden feet worked 
so well that they kept all the boys at a reasonable 
distance. Where the feet struck they always left a 
black and blue spot. 

Then the boys, provoked at not being able to 
get near the marionette, looked around for stones; 
but there was nothing but sand. They finally took 
their spelling books, geographies, histories, and 
























132 


PINOCCHIO 


arithmetics and began hurling them at him. But 
the marionette was very quick and dodged every 
one, so that the books went over him and fell into 
the sea. 

What do you think the fishes did ? Thinking 
that the books might be something to eat, they 
swam to the edge of the sea and looked at the 
pictures; but after swallowing several pages and 
frontispieces, they spat them out and made wry 
faces, as if to say: “ This is no food for us. We 
are accustomed to eat much better stuff." 

Meanwhile the combat grew fiercer until a big 
old Crab came out of the water and, slowly walk¬ 
ing up the beach, cried with the voice of a trom¬ 
bone that has caught a cold, “ Stop it! stop it! 
These battles between boys always end badly. 
Some misfortune is sure to happen.” 

Poor Crab! It was as if he had spoken to the 
wind. That scoundrel, Pinocchio, turned ground 
and said most impolitely: “ Oh, hush! ugly Crab. 
You would do better to eat some seaweed and 
cure that cold of yours. Go home to bed and take 
a good sweat.” 

In the meantime the boys, who had used up 
all their own books, looked around and spied Pi- 
nocchio’s, which they seized sooner than it takes 
to tell it. Among his books there was a volume 



PINOCCHIO 


33 


bound in thick cardboard. It was a treatise on 
arithmetic. I will leave you to imagine how heavy 
it must have been. One of the boys seized the 
arithmetic and, taking aim, threw it at Pinocchio. 
Instead of hitting the marionette it struck the 
head of one of his companions. The boy became 
as white as a sheet or raised bread and said only 
these few words, “ Oh, my mother! Help me, for 
I am dying.” 

At the sight of the little fellow apparently dying 
the boys were scared and ran away as fast as they 
could. In a few minutes there was no one left but 
Pinocchio. 

Although he was more dead than alive through 
grief and fright, he ran to soak his handkerchief 
in the sea and began to bathe the temples of his 
poor schoolmate. Meanwhile he cried despair¬ 
ingly : “ Eugene! My poor Eugene, open your 
eyes and look at me! Why do you not answer 
me ? It was not I who hurt you. Believe me, it 
was not I. If you keep your eyes shut, you will 
make me die too. How shall I be able to go home 
now ? What can I say to my good mamma ? What 
will she say to me ? Where shall I go ? Where 
can I hide myself ? Oh, how much better, a thou¬ 
sand times better, would it have been if I had gone 
to school! Why did I listen to them this morning? 




34 


PINOCCHIO 


And to think that the teacher and also my mamma 
warned me, ‘ Beware of bad companions ! ’ But I 
am headstrong. I am a bad, obstinate boy. I let 
them tell me what to do and then I do what I please. 
Why was I ever made ? I have never had a quiet 
day in my life. Oh, dear! What will become of 
me ? What will become of me ? ” 

And Pinocchio continued to cry and weep and 
punch his head and call poor Eugene by name. 
Suddenly he heard the sound of footsteps. He 
turned and there were two policemen. “What 
are you doing there ? ” they asked. 

“ I am helping my schoolmate.” 

“ Is he hurt ? ” 

“ It appears so.” 

“Worse than that,” said one of them, bending 
down and looking* at Eugene closely; “ the boy 
is wounded in the temple. Who did it?” 

“It was not I,” said the marionette, who had 
hardly any breath left in his body. 

“ If you did not do it, who was it then ? ” 

“Not I,” repeated Pinocchio. 

“ With what was he struck ? ” 

“With this book.” And the marionette took 
from the ground the treatise on arithmetic, bound 
in thick cardboard, and handed it to the policeman. 
“ Whose book is this ? ” 




PINOCCHIO 


135 


“ It is mine.” 


“That is enough. You must have done it. 
Stand up and come with us immediately.” 


“ But I — ” 

“ Come with us.” 

“But I am innocent.” 

“ Come with us.” 

Before going away the 
policemen called some 
fishermen who at that 
moment were passing by 
in a rowboat near the 
shore, and said to them : 

“ We trust this wounded 
boy to you. Take him 
to your house and help 
him. To-morrow we will 
come back and see how 
he is.” 

Then they turned to Pinocchio and, placing him 
between them, said: “Forward! Walk quickly! 
If you do not, so much the worse for you.” 

Without saying anything the marionette began 
to walk along the road that led to his home. But 
the poor little boy did not know whether he was in 
this world or not. It appeared to him that he was 
dreaming, and what a horrible dream it was! He 





36 


PINOCCHIO 


was nearly crazy. His eyes saw double. His 
legs trembled. His tongue stuck to the roof of 
his mouth and he could not say a word. And yet 
in the midst of that species of stupidity he felt a 
thorn in his heart at the thought of passing under 
the window of the good Fairy. He would have 
preferred to die. 

They had already reached the city and were just 
on the point of entering when a gust of wind blew 
off Pinocchio’s hat and carried it along the road 
back of them. 

“Will you allow me to get my hat?” asked 
Pinocchio. 

“Yes, but do it quickly.” 

The marionette ran after it, but he did not put 
it on his head. He placed it between his teeth 
and then began to run toward the sea. He flew 
like a musket ball. 

The policemen, judging that they could not 
catch him, loosened a bloodhound that had gained 
the first premiums at all the dog shows. Pinocchio 
ran and the dog ran after him. All the people, 
hearing the noise, ran to the front doors and win¬ 
dows and wondered who would win the race. But 
the dog and Pinocchio made such a dust as they 
ran that they were soon hidden and were seen 


no more. 





CHAPTER XXVIII 

During that desperate run there was a terrible 
moment in which Pinocchio believed himself lost, 
for Aladdin, the dog, ran so very fast that he 
nearly caught him. The marionette felt behind 
him the warm breath of the ugly beast as he 
panted heavily. By good luck the beach was near 
and he saw the sea not far away. 

As soon as he reached the water’s edge the 
marionette gave a good spring, just like a frog, and 
fell into the water. Aladdin wished to stop but, 
carried by the impetus of his speed, he also entered 
the water. The unfortunate Dog did not know how 
to swim, so he began to gesticulate with his paws 
in order to right himself; but the more he gesticu¬ 
lated the more his head went under water. When 
he finally succeeded in getting his head out of water 
his eyes were full of tears, and, barking, he said, 
“ I smother ! I drown ! ” 


i37 


38 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Die! ” replied Pinocchio, who, seeing himself 
far away, felt that he was out of danger. 

“ Help me, Pinocchio ! Save me from death ! ” 

At that pitiful cry the marionette, who had 
really a good heart, was moved with compassion 
and, turning to the Dog, said to him, “But if I 
save you, will you promise that you will not run 
after me ? ” 

“Yes, I promise you. Come quickly, for in a 
few minutes I shall be dead.” 

Pinocchio hesitated a little. Then remembering 
that his papa had told him that a good action is 
never forgotten, he swam toward Aladdin and, tak¬ 
ing him by the tail, pulled him out and landed him 
safe and sound on the sand. 

The poor Dog could not stand on his feet. He 
had unintentionally swallowed so much salt water 
that he was swollen like a balloon. Not wishing to 
trust the Dog too much, the marionette thought it 
prudent to throw himself again into the sea. 
Swimming away, he cried : “ Good-by, Aladdin ! 
Remember me to all your friends.” 

“Good-by, Pinocchio!” barked the Dog. “A 
thousand thanks for having saved my life. You 
have done me a great service and I shall never 
forget you. I hope I shall be able to repay you 
some day.” 



PINOCCHIO 


39 


Pinocchio continued to swim, keeping always 
near the shore. Finally he thought he had arrived 
at a good safe place to land. Looking up and 
down, he saw on the reefs a sort of grotto out of 
which came a long thread of smoke. 

“ In that grotto,” he said to himself, “ there must 
be some fire. So much the better ; I will go and dry 
myself. Then whatever will happen will happen.” 

Having taken this resolution he approached the 
reef; but when he was about to land he felt some¬ 
thing in the water that drew him along. He tried 
to escape but it was too late. He found himself 
in a great fish net full of fishes of every kind. 
And then he saw coming out of the grotto a 
fisherman so ugly that he appeared to be a sea 
monster. Instead of hair he had bunches of sea¬ 
weed on his head. His skin also was green; so 
were his eyes and his long beard. He looked like 
a great big lizard with arms and legs. 

When the fisherman had pulled out the net he 
gave a great cry of satisfaction : “ Thank goodness ! 
To-day I shall have a nice big meal.” 

“ It is a good thing I am not a fish,” said Pinoc¬ 
chio to himself, becoming more hopeful. 

The net of fishes was carried into the grotto, which 
was dark and smoky. In the center was a fire, and 
over it a frying pan full of oil was spitting. 



140 


PINOCCHIO 


“Now let us see what kind of fish I have caught 
to-day,” said the green fisherman. Putting his 
hand inside he drew out a lot of mullets. 

“ These are beautiful mullets,” he said, looking 
at them with pleasure. And after having smelled 
them he threw them into a washtub. 

He repeated this operation many times, filling 
many tubs with other fish, his mouth watering all 
the time so that he could hardly wait until the fish 
were cooked. 

“ What good whitefish ! ” 

“ What exquisite bass ! ” 

“ What delicious soles ! ” 

“ What choice crabs ! ” 

“ What glorious anchovy ! ” 

The last that remained in the net was Pinocchio. 
As the fisherman drew him out he looked scared 
and exclaimed: “What species of fish is this? 

I do not remember ever having 
seen one like it before.” 
He looked him all over 






PINOCCHIO 


41 


again and then said : “I understand. He belongs 
to the crawfish family.” 

Pinocchio, mortified at being called a crawfish, 
indignantly cried out: “I am not a crawfish! 
Look at me ; I am a marionette.” 

“ A marionette ! ” replied the fisherman. “ Well, 
well! A marionette fish is a new kind to me. All 
the better ; I shall eat you with more relish.” 

“ Eat me ? But you do not understand ! I am 
not a fish. Don’t you see that I reason and talk 
as you do ? ” 

“It is true,” replied the fisherman. “As I see 
that you live in the water and must be a fish, 
and as you know how to reason and talk, I will 
respect your wisdom and will therefore let you 
decide.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” 

“ Why, on account of my esteem and friendship 
for one who knows how to reason and talk, I will 
let you choose the way in which you are to be 
cooked. Should you like to be boiled, or fried 
in a pan with tomato sauce ? ” 

“To tell you the truth,” replied Pinocchio, “if 
I must choose, I should prefer to be set free and 
to go home.” 

“You are joking. Do you think I would lose 
the chance of eating so rare a fish ? What I will 



142 


PINOCCHIO 


do is to fry you with all the others. Being fried 
with companions is always a consolation.” 

At this allusion the unhappy Pinocchio began to 
weep. He exclaimed : “ How much better would it 
have been if I had gone to school! I listened to 
the bad advice of my school friends and now I am 
paying for it. Ih ! ih ! ih ! ” 

Because Pinocchio twisted and turned, like an 
eel the fisherman took a piece of cord and bound 
him tightly and threw him in with the others. 
Then he pulled out a box of flour and, having 
buttered the fish all over, began to dip them into 
it so as to make them taste nice. The first to 
be put into the pan were the mullets, then the 
soles, then the bass, and finally it came Pinocchio’s 
turn. The marionette, seeing himself so close to 
death — and such a mean death ! — trembled all 
over with fright and had no breath left to say 
anything. 

The poor boy looked sadly at the fisherman ; but 
the green man, without paying any attention, 
buttered him all over from head to foot, so that he 
looked like a marionette of chalk. 

Then he took him by the neck and — 



CHAPTER XXIX 


Just as the fisherman was on the point of putting 
Pinocchio into the frying pan a big Dog entered 
the grotto, having been attracted by the savory 
odor of the fried fish. “Go away!” cried the 
fisherman, waving in his hand the marionette all 
covered with flour. But the poor Dog had a hun¬ 
ger that demanded to be appeased. So, whining 
and wagging his tail, he appeared to say, “ Give me 
a mouthful of fish and I will leave.” 

r 43 



144 


PINOCCHIO 


“Go away ! ” repeated the fisherman, raising his 
foot to kick him. Then the Dog, who was truly 
hungry, showed his terrible teeth. 

At that instant there was heard in the grotto a 
small voice crying, “ Save me, Aladdin ! If you do 
not, I shall be fried.” 

The Dog recognized the voice of Pinocchio and 
was surprised to find that it came from the white 
bundle that the fisherman held in his hand. Then 
what did he do ? He jumped up high, caught that 
white bundle and, holding it lightly between his 
teeth, ran out of the grotto like a shot. 

The fisherman was greatly enraged and tried to 
catch him, but it was wasted time and he had to 
content himself with the fish that were left. 

In the meantime Aladdin, finding the road that 
led back to the town, stopped and carefully placed 
Pinocchio on the ground. 

“ How can I thank you ? ” said the marionette. 

“ It is not necessary,” said the Dog. “ You have 
saved me and now I save you. In this world all 
ought to help one another.” 

“ But how did you find the grotto ? ” 

“ After you left me I was lying on the shore when 
the wind carried to me the odor of fried fish. That 
odor gave me an appetite and I went to the place 
from which it came. If I had been a minute later—” 



PINOCCHIO 


145 


“ Don’t speak about it! ” cried Pinocchio, trem¬ 
bling with fear. “ Don’t speak about it! If you 
had arrived a minute later, I should have been fried, 
eaten, and digested. Brrr! It makes me shake 
only to think of it! ” 

Aladdin, laughing, held out his paw, which Pinoc¬ 
chio took. After shaking hands like two good 
friends, they separated. The Dog went home and 
Pinocchio went to a little town not far away. There 
he asked an old man who was sitting in the doorway 
basking in the sun, “ Tell me, do you know anything 
about a little boy who was wounded and who is 
called Eugene?” 

“ The boy has been carried into this town by 
some fishermen and he is now — ” 

“Not dead ? ” interrupted Pinocchio in great grief. 

“ No ; he is alive and has gone home.” 

“Truly? truly?” cried the marionette, jumping 
up and down with great joy. “ Then the wound 
was not serious ? ” 

“ No ; but it might have been, for he was struck 
by a large book.” 

“ And who threw it ? ” 

“ One of his companions ; a certain Pinocchio.” 

“ Who is this Pinocchio ? ” 

“ They say that he is a bad boy, a vagabond and 
a true scoundrel.” 



46 


PINOCCHIO 


“That is not true.” 

“ Do you know him then ? ” 

“By sight,” replied the marionette. 

“ What do you think of him ? ” 

“He appears to me to be a good boy, a boy that 
wants to go to school, to study, and to obey his 
parents.” 

When the marionette had told that story he 
touched his nose and found that it had grown 
much larger. Frightened by this, he cried : “ Do 
not believe, good man, all that I have said ! I 
know this Pinocchio very well and I assure you 
that he is a bad boy, a vagabond and a scoundrel; 
and instead of going to school he goes with bad 
companions.” He had hardly said these words 
when his nose returned to its natural size. 

“And why are you covered with white?” said 
the old man. 

“ I will tell you. Without knowing it I climbed 
down a wall covered with chalk,” replied the mario¬ 
nette, who was ashamed to tell the real reason. 

“Well, my boy, you cannot go around like that. 
I have only a little sack that will fit you, but I will 
give you that willingly.” 

Without being urged further Pinocchio took the 
little sack and, cutting a hole in the bottom and 
two holes on the side with a pair of scissors, put 



PINOCCHIO 


147 


it over his head like a shirt. Clothed thus lightly 
he took the road to his home and said to him¬ 
self as he walked along: “ How shall I present 
myself to my good Fairy ? What will she say 
when she sees me ? Will she pardon me the sec¬ 
ond time ? Oh, no ; she will not pardon me, I am 
sure, because I have been a scamp and have not 
kept my promise.” 

When he arrived at the town it was quite dark; 
and because it rained very hard, he went directly 
to the house of the Fairy and decided to knock at 
the door. But when he reached the house his 
courage failed, so instead of knocking he walked 
beyond. He returned a second time to the door, 
but did not knock; then he approached it another 
time, but did nothing. The fourth time he trem¬ 
bled as he took hold of the knocker and let it fall 
without much noise. 

He waited and waited. In about half an hour a 
window opened on the top floor (for there were four 
stories to the house) and Pinocchio saw a large Snail 
look out. The Snail called, “Who is it at this 
hour ? ” 

“ Is the Fairy at home ? ” asked the marionette. 

“The Fairy is sleeping and does not wish to be 
awakened ; but who are you ? ” 

“It is I.” 



148 


PINOCCHIO 


“Who is I?” 

“ Pinocchio.” 

“ Who is Pinocchio ? ” 

“The marionette who lives here with the Fairy.” 
“ Ah, I understand,” said the Snail. “ Wait there 
and I will come down immediately.” 

“ Hurry, please, for I am dying of cold.” 

























































PINOCCHIO 


149 


“ My boy, I am a snail; and snails never hurry.” 

In the meantime an hour passed by, then two; 
and the door was not opened. Pinocchio, trem¬ 
bling with the cold, knocked again. At the second 
knock the window on the third story opened and 
the Snail looked out. 

“ Beautiful Snail,” cried Pinocchio from the 
street, “ I have waited two hours; and two hours 
in this weather seem like two years. Please 
hurry, won’t you ? ” 

“ My boy,” replied the Snail, “I am a snail; 
and snails never hurry.” 

Some time afterward it struck midnight; then 
one; then two; but the door remained always 
closed. Then Pinocchio, losing patience, took hold 
of the knocker and was about to strike with all his 
might when the knocker became an eel and, 
slipping through his hands, dropped into a stream 
of water that ran in the street. 

“ Ho! ho!” cried Pinocchio, more enraged than 
ever. “ If the knocker disappears I will use my 
foot.” He then kicked the door so hard that his 
foot went through the wood and stuck there. He 
tried to pull it out but he could not. Just imagine 
how he felt! He was obliged to wait with one 
foot on the ground and the other in the door until 
morning came. 




PINOCCHIO 


150 


In the morning the door was opened. The good 
Snail had taken nine hours in descending the stairs, 
and, as might have ,been expected, was covered 
with perspiration. 

“ What are you doing with your foot in the door? ” 
he asked, laughing. 

“ I have been unfortunate. Just look, kind Snail, 
and help me.” 

“ My boy, you need a carpenter, and I have never 
learned that trade.” 

“Ask the Fairy to help me.” 

“The Fairy is asleep and does not wish to be 
awakened.” 

“ But what can I do all day with my foot fastened 
to the door ? ” 

“You can amuse yourself by counting the ants 
that pass by.” 

“ Bring me something to eat, won’t you ? I am 
very hungry.” 

“Immediately,” said the Snail. 

After three hours Pinocchio saw him coming with 
a silver vase on his head. The vase contained some 
bread, a piece of chicken, and four ripe apricots. 

“Here is your breakfast sent to you by the 
Fairy.” 

At the sight of such food Pinocchio felt consoled. 
But he was deceived; for when he took the bread 



PINOCCHIO 


151 


he found that it was chalk, that the chicken was 
made of cardboard, and that the four apricots were 
of glass. 

He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, he 
wanted to throw the silver vase into the house ; 
but he was so weak that he fell down and fainted. 
When he came to he found himself on a sofa and 
the Fairy was near him. 

“ I will pardon you this time ; but woe to you if 
you ever do it again ! ” said the Fairy. 

Pinocchio promised and swore that he would be 
good. He kept his promise the rest of the year. 
In fact, at the examinations he took the first honors, 
and the Fairy was so happy that she said to him, 
“To-morrow you shall have your wish.” 

“ And that is ? ” 

“To-morrow you shall stop being a marionette 
and become a real boy.” 

One who never saw Pinocchio cannot imagine 
how happy he was at this announcement. All his 
friends and schoolmates were invited to a great col¬ 
lation. The Fairy had prepared two hundred cups 
and saucers and four hundred little sandwiches 
buttered inside and out. That day promised to be 
a great event but — 

Unfortunately in the life of a marionette there is 
always a but that spoils everything. 




CHAPTER XXX 

Pinocchio suddenly asked the Fairy’s permission 
to go and invite his friends. The Fairy said : “Go 
and invite them, but remember to come back 
before night. Do you understand ? ” 

“ I promise to be back in an hour,” he replied. 

“ Take care, Pinocchio! Boys make promises 
easily, but sometimes they do not keep them.” 

“ I am not like other boys. When I make a 
promise I always keep it.” 

“We shall see. In case you disobey it will be 
the worse for you.” 

“Why?” 

“ Because boys who do not pay attention to the 
advice of their parents always meet with mis¬ 
fortune.” 


152 






PINOCCHIO 


153 


“I have had experience,” said Pinocchio; “now 
you will see that I obey.” 

“ We shall see if you speak the truth.” 

In a little more than an hour all his friends 
were invited. Some accepted at once; others 
hesitated until they heard of the good things to 
eat. Then they said, “We will surely come.” 

Now you must know that among his companions 
there was one that he liked best of all. His name 
was Romeo; but he was nicknamed Lamp Wick, 
because he was as dry as a new lamp wick that 
people use to light their houses. 

Lamp Wick was the most careless and mis¬ 
chievous boy in all the school, but Pinocchio liked 
him very much. He went to look for him so as to 
give him an invitation to the party next day ; but he 
sought in vain. Where could he be? He looked 
here and there and finally found him under a shed 
of a country house. 

“What are you doing here ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“ I am waiting until it is midnight, so that I can 
go away.” 

“ Where are you going ? ” 

“Far away, far away, far away.” 

“ I have looked for you everywhere.” 

“What do you want with me?” 

“ Have you not heard ? ” 



54 


PINOCCHIO 


" What is it ? ” 

“To-morrow I shall no longer be a marionette; 
I shall become a boy like all the rest.” 

“ Good luck to you ! ” 

“ But I want you to be there.” 

“ I have told you that I am going away to-night.” 

“ At what time ? ” 

“Shortly.” 

“ Where do you go ? ” 

“ I am going to live in a new country that is 
the most beautiful place in all the world. It is a 
true land of plenty.” 

“ What do they call it ? ” 

“ They call it ‘ The Country of Playthings.’ Why 
won’t you come ? ” 

“ I ? No, indeed.” 

“You are wrong, Pinocchio. Believe me, if you 
do not go away, you will be sorry. Where can 
you find a better place for boys ? There are no 
schools ; there are no teachers ; there are no books. 
In that blessed country they never study. On 
Saturdays you do not go to school here, and there 
every day is a Saturday except one, which is Sun¬ 
day. Just think, the vacation begins the first day 
of January and ends the last day of December ! 
That is the country for me. That is what I think 
all countries should be like.” 



PINOCCHIO 


155 


“ But how do you pass the days in the Country 
of Playthings ? ” 

“ Why, you play from morning till night. At 
night you go to bed, and the next morning it is 
the same thing all over again. How should you 
like it ? ” 

“ Uhm ! ” said Pinocchio, and he shook his head 
lightly as if to say, “ It is a country that would 
please me very much.” 

“Then will you go with me ? Yes or no.” 

“ No, no, no ! I have promised my kind P'airy 
to become a good boy and I wish to keep my 
word. The sun is going down and I must hurry. 
Good-by and a pleasant journey.” 

“ Don’t go away so soon. Why do you hurry ? ” 

“ Because I told the good Fairy that I would be 
at home before dark.” 

“ Wait two minutes.” 

“ No ; it will be too late.” 

“Only two minutes.” 

“ The Fairy will scold me.” 

« Let her scold. When she has scolded enough 
she will stop,” said the little scoundrel Lamp Wick. 

« And what are you going to do ? Do you go 
alone or with company ? ” 

“ Alone ? Why, there will be a hundred boys.” 

“ Do you go on foot ? ” 



156 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Oh, no ! A little carriage will come soon and 
take me.” 

“ How much I would give to see the carriage 
pass by now ! ” 

“Why ?” 

“I should like to see you all start.” 

“ If you will stay here a little while you will see 
them.” 

“ No, no ! I wish to go home.” 

“Oh, wait another two minutes.” 

“No ; I have waited too long now. The Fairy 
will worry about me.” 

“ Poor Fairy ! Does she think that you will be 
eaten by bats ? ” 

“But tell me,” urged Pinocchio, “you are sure 
that in that country there is no school ? ” 

“Not even the shadow of one.” 

“ And no teachers ? ” 

“ Not one.” 

“ And you are never obliged to study ? ” 

“ Never, never, never ! ” 

“What a beautiful country!” said Pinocchio, 
his mouth beginning to water. “ I have never 
been there, but I can imagine all about it.” 

“ Why don’t you come along ? ” 

“ It is useless to tempt me. I have promised to 
be a good boy and I wish to keep my word.” 



PINOCCHIO 


157 


“ Well, then, good-by; remember me to all the 
scholars.” 

“ Good-by, Lamp Wick. I wish you a good trip 
and I hope you will meet some nice new friends.” 

Having said this, the marionette took two steps 
toward home; then he stopped and asked, “ But 
are you sure that there are six Saturdays in the 
week and only one Sunday ? ” 

“ I am positive.” 

“ And can you say for certain that the vacation 
begins on the first of January and ends the last 
day of December ? ” 

“I am positive.” 

‘‘What a beautiful country!” said Pinocchio. 
Presently he made another start and said, “Then 
good-by truly this time, and I wish you a safe 
journey.” 

“ Good-by.” 

“ How soon do you start ? ” 

“ Shortly now.” 

“ Too bad ! I think I will wait and see you go.” 

“ And the Fairy ? ” 

“ It is late now, and an hour later will not make 
much difference.” 

“ Poor Pinocchio ! and if the Fairy should scold ? ” 

“Well, let her scold. When she has scolded 
enough she will stop.” 



58 


PINOCCHIO 


In the meantime it became quite dark. Sud¬ 
denly as they talked they saw moving along the 
road a little light and heard the tooting of little 
trumpets so small and fine that they sounded like 
the buzzing of a mosquito. 



“ Here they are ! ” said Lamp Wick, standing up. 
“ Who is it ? ” asked Pinocchio, in a low voice. 
“It is the carriage that is coming for me. Now 
will you go ? Yes or no.” 

“But are you sure,” asked the marionette, “that 
in that country the boys are not obliged to study? ” 
“ Never, never, never ! ” 

“ What a beautiful country it must be ! ” 





CHAPTER XXXI 

Finally the carriage arrived without making the 
least noise, because the wheels were bound with 
tow and rags. Twelve little donkeys pulled it; 
they were of the same size but of different colors. 
Some were brown, others speckled like pepper and 
salt, and others were striped with bands of yellow 
and blue. But the most singular thing about them 
was this: these twelve pair of donkeys, that is, 
the twenty-four donkeys, instead of having shoes 
made of iron, had on their feet white kid boots 
shaped like a man’s. 

And the driver ? Just imagine a man very fat and 
round, like a big ball of butter, with an oily smile, 
i59 


6 o 


PINOCCHIO 


a face like an apple, and a thin, caressing voice 
like that of a cat trying to win the affection of 
its mistress ! 

As soon as they saw him boys were tempted 
to. jump into the carriage and start away for the 
place unknown on the geographical maps,— the 
Country of Playthings. 

The carriage was filled with boys between eight 
and ten years of age, packed like sardines in a 
box. They were so closely huddled together that 
they could hardly breathe. But no one said “ Oh! ” 
No one complained. The consolation of knowing 
that in a few hours they would arrive in a country 
where there were no books, or schools, or teachers 
made them happy and resigned, so that they did not 
feel hurt, or uncomfortable, or hungry, or thirsty. 

As soon as the carriage stopped the fat driver 
turned to Lamp Wick and with a thousand airs and 
grimaces said to him, smiling, “Tell me, my pretty 
lad, do you wish to come with us to the most for¬ 
tunate country ?” 

“ Indeed I do.” 

“ But I warn you that there is no place inside. 
As you see, it is full.” 

“Oh, well,” replied Lamp Wick, “if there is no 
place inside, I will sit on top of the carriage,” and 
he jumped up and sat beside the driver. 



PINOCCHIO 


161 


“And what about your friend?” said the driver, 
turning most politely toward Pinocchio. “What 
will he do ? Are you coming with us also ? ” 

“ I remain here,” replied Pinocchio. “ I wish to 
return home. I prefer to study and to be a good 
boy.” 

“ What good will that do you ? ” 

“ Listen to me, Pinocchio,” said Lamp Wick; 
“come with us and always be happy.” 

“ No, no, no ! ” 

“ Come with us and always be happy,” said four 
others. 

“ Come with us and always be happy,” said all 
the rest. 

“And if I go with you, what will the good Fairy 
say ? ” asked Pinocchio, who began to feel as if he 
were being pulled by his sleeve. 

“ Do not think of that. Think of the country 
we shall be in. We shall be our own masters and 
make a fine noise all day long.” 

Pinocchio did not reply, but gave a sigh ; then he 
gave another sigh ; then a third sigh ; finally he 
said : “Give me a place. I will go with you.” 

“ All the places are full,” replied the driver; 
“but if you wish, take my place.” 

“ What will you do ? ” 

“ I will walk.” 



PINOCCHIO 


162 


“ No; I cannot allow that. I prefer to ride on 
one of the donkeys,” said Pinocchio. 

No sooner said than done. He approached the 
nearest donkey and tried to mount it; but the 
donkey, probably suffering from an attack of hic¬ 
coughs, suddenly raised his hind feet and threw 
Pinocchio off. 

Just imagine the impertinent laughter of all 
those boys who saw it! But the driver did not 
laugh. He went to the rebellious donkey and, 
feigning to kiss him, bit off a portion of his 
right ear. 

Meanwhile Pinocchio, who was very angry, made 
another jump on the donkey’s back. The jump 
was such a beautiful one that the boys began to 
laugh and shout, “Long live Pinocchio!” and clap 
their hands for joy. 

When they were ready to start the donkey again 
raised his hind feet and gave such a strong kick 
that the marionette was thrown on top of a heap 
of gravel. The boys again laughed out loud ; but 
the driver, instead of laughing, went to the donkey 
and, feigning to whisper something in his left ear, 
bit off a portion of that ear also. Then he said to 
the marionette : “ Remount and have no fear. That 
donkey had a whim in his head, but I have spoken 
to him and he will be more reasonable.” 
















































































164 


PINOCCHIO 


Pinocchio mounted and the carriage started. 
While the donkeys galloped along the marionette 
fancied that he heard a strange voice saying: 
“ Poor simpleton ! You wish to do as you please. 
You will be sorry.” 

The frightened Pinocchio looked first on one 
side of the road and then on the other to see 
whence these words came; but he saw no one. 
The donkeys galloped, the carriage rolled along, 
the boys inside slept, Lamp Wick snored like a 
dormouse, and the driver sang between his teeth: 

All the night they sleep, 

And I never . . . 

They made another mile. Again Pinocchio heard 
the voice. This time it said : “ Bear in mind, simple¬ 
ton, that boys who stop studying and throw away 
their books and do nothing but play and amuse 
themselves will always come to a bad end. I know 
it, for I have tried it, but I cannot say any more. 
You will cry some day as I do now, but then it will 
be too late.” 

At these whispered words the marionette was 
more frightened than ever. He jumped down to 
the ground and put his ear to the donkey’s nose. 
Imagine how surprised he was when he perceived 
that the donkey wept just like a little boy ! “Mr. 



PINOCCHIO 


165 


Driver,” cried Pinocchio, “do you know that this 
donkey can cry ? ” 

“ Let him cry. He will laugh when he has some 
hay.” 

“ But who taught him to speak ? ” 

“ He learned to say a few words in a country 
where he lived for a little while.” 

“ Poor beast! ” 

“ Do not waste your time pitying a donkey when 
he cries. Jump on his back and let us go. The 
night is fresh and the road is long.” 

Pinocchio obeyed in silence. The carriage moved 
on, and when the sun came up they arrived at the 
Country of Playthings. 

This country did not resemble any other in the 
world. The population was composed entirely of 
boys. The oldest was thirteen years and the 
youngest not under eight. In the streets there was 
a noise, a running around, and a blowing of trum¬ 
pets that would make your head ache. Everywhere 
groups of boys played at marbles, at shinny, at ball; 
some rode on velocipedes and wooden horses ; some 
played hide and seek; others played tag; some sang;- 
others jumped over benches; some walked on their 
hands with their feet in the air; others tried to kick 
over their heads ; some laughed ; some called ; some 
whistled ; some made a noise like a hen that has 



PINOCCHIO 


166 


just laid an egg. In fact, there was such a pande¬ 
monium that you would have had to put cotton in 
your ears. 

As soon as Pinocchio, Lamp Wick, and all the 
other newcomers in this country had arrived, they 
ran around with the others and began to play. Who 
could have been happier or more contented than 
they ? “ Oh, what a beautiful life this is ! ” said 

Pinocchio, running after Lamp Wick. 

“ See ; was I not right ? ” said the latter. “ You 
did not wish to come. To think that you should 
Want to return to the Fairy's house and study! If 
to-day you are free from all the annoyances of 
school and its troubles, you should thank me. True 
friends are the only ones who know how to ren¬ 
der favors to one another.” 

“ It is true, Lamp Wick. If to-day I am a free 
and happy boy, I owe it all to you. Yet the teacher 
used to say to me, ‘ Do not go with Lamp Wick 
because he is a bad companion.’ ” 

“ Poor Teacher!” replied the other, shaking his 
head. 

So they played in the country for five months. 
They never saw a book; never studied a minute. 
They played from morning till night. One morning 
when Pinocchio awoke he was surprised to find what 
had happened, and it made him very unhappy. 




CHAPTER XXXII 

What was the surprise ? I will tell you, my dear 
little reader. The surprise was that when Pinoc- 
chio awoke one morning and happened to scratch 
his head, he perceived — just imagine what he per¬ 
ceived! You know that when the marionette was 
born he had very little ear-s, so little that you could 
scarcely see them. Fancy, then, how surprised he 
was, when he put his hand to his head, to find that 
his ears had grown long! He went quickly in 
search of a mirror, but not finding any he emptied 
some water into a basin. Then, looking at his 
reflection, he saw something that he certainly did 
not expect to see, — two beautiful, long, donkey 


ears. 


167 




i68 


PINOCCHIO 


I will leave you to imagine the grief, the 
shame, the desperation of Pinocchio. He cried 
and screamed and beat his head against the wall; 
but his ears grew and grew and grew until hair 
began to show on the tops. 

At the sound of his heartrending cries a Dor¬ 
mouse, who lived on the first floor, entered the room. 
Seeing the marionette in great anguish, he asked 
eagerly, “ What is the matter, my dear little lodger ? ” 

“ I am sick, Dormouse ; very sick, and with a sick¬ 
ness that alarms me. Do you understand the pulse ?” 

“A little.” 

“ See, then, if I have a fever.” 

The Dormouse took Pinocchio’s wrist in his paw 
and, after having tested his pulse, said, “My friend, 
it grieves me to tell you bad news.” 

“ What is it ? ” 

“You have a bad fever.” 

“ What kind ? ” 

“ The donkey fever.” 

“ I do not understand that disease,” replied 
Pinocchio, who really understood very well. 

“ I will explain it to you. Know, then, that in 
two or three hours you will be a donkey, a real 
donkey, like those that pulled the carriage which 
brought you here.” 

“ Oh, what shall I do ? what shall I do ? ” cried 



PINOCCHIO 


169 


Pinocchio, pulling his ears so hard that it must 
have hurt him. 

“My dear,” said the Dormouse, “what are you 
trying to do ? You must know that it is a written 
decree that those boys who do not wish to study, 
who hate books and teachers, and who spend the 
whole day enjoying themselves, end by becoming 
little donkeys.” 

“ Is that really true ? ” asked the marionette. 

“ Of course it is. And now it is of no use to 
cry. You should always think first.” 

“ But the fault is not mine. The fault, believe 
me, is all Lamp Wick’s.” 

“ Who is Lamp Wick ? ” 

“A friend of mine. I wished to go back to 
school and be an honor to the good Fairy; but 



170 


PINOCCHIO 


Lamp Wick said to me, ‘ In the Country of Play¬ 
things no one studies, and we can play from morn¬ 
ing till night.’ ” 

“ Why did you follow the advice of a bad 
friend ? ” 

“ Why ? Because, Dormouse, I am a foolish, 
heartless marionette. Oh, if I had had a little bit of 
heart, I should never have left my good Fairy, who 
loved me like a mamma and did much for me. And 
by this time I should have been a little boy like all 
the rest instead of a marionette. Oh, if I had not 
met Lamp Wick ! ” 

And he walked toward the door. But when he 
had gone outside he remembered his donkey ears; 
and, being ashamed of himself, what do you think 
he invented? He made a dunce cap and, putting 
it on his head, pulled it down over his ears. Then 
he went out and looked for Lamp Wick. He looked 
in the streets, in the square, in the theater, in fact, 
everywhere ; but he could not find him. He asked 
if any one had seen him, but no one knew where he 
was. He then went to his house and knocked at 
the door. 

“ Who is there ? ” asked Lamp Wick from the 
inside. 

“ It is I,” replied Pinocchio. 

“ Wait a little and I will open the door.” 



PINOCCHIO 


171 

After half an hour the door opened and Pinocchio 
saw his friend, also in a dunce cap which covered 
his ears. 

At the sight of that cap Pinocchio felt somewhat 
consoled, and he thought to himself, “ He has the 
same trouble and also suffers from donkey fever.” 



Feigning not to see anything, he asked gayly, 
“ How are you, my dear Lamp Wick ? ” 

“ Like a rat in a cake of cheese.” 

“ Are you telling me the truth ? ” 

“ Why should I tell a story ? ” 

“ Excuse me; but why do you wear that cap 
then ? ” 

“A doctor ordered it because my knees hurt. 
And you, Pinocchio, why do you wear one ? ” 




72 


PINOCCHIO 


“ The doctor ordered it because I had corns on 
my feet.” 

“ Oh, poor Pinocchio ! ” 

“ Oh, poor Lamp Wick ! ” 

After these words there was a long silence dur¬ 
ing which time the two friends looked at each other. 
Finally the marionette said in a kind voice, “ Raise 
your cap just a little, will you ? ” 

“ Never ! And you ? ” 

“Never! You see I have an ear that is very 
painful.” 

“ So have I.” 

“ You, too ? And which ear hurts ? ” 

“Both. And you ? ” 

“ Both. Can it be the same malady ? ” 

“ I fear so.” 

“ Do you wish to please me, Lamp Wick ? ” 

“With all my heart.” 

“ Let me see your ears.” 

“Oh, no! First let me see yours.” 

“No ; you ought to do it first.” 

“ No ; after you always.” 

“Then,” said the marionette, “let us make a 
contract.” 

“All right.” 

“Let us take off our caps together.” 

“All right.” 



PINOCCHIO 


73 


“Look out then.” And Pinocchio began to 
count : “ One, two, three ! ” 

At the word “three,” the boys took off their 
caps and threw them into the air. And then they 
laughed and laughed and laughed until they were 
compelled to hold their sides. Suddenly Lamp 
Wick stopped and, changing color, said to his 
friend, “ Help ! oh, help me, Pinocchio !” 

“ What is the matter ? ” 

“ Oh, dear me ! I cannot stand up any longer.” 

“ I cannot, either,” cried Pinocchio. 

Even while they were speaking they fell on their 
hands and began to run around the room on all 
fours. And while they ran their arms became 
legs, their faces changed, and their bodies were 
covered with long hair. But the moment that was 
most horrible for each unfortunate was when he 
felt a tail swishing behind him. Overcome by 
shame and grief, they tried to talk. But they could 
not do it. Instead of sobs and lamentations there 
came the bray of a donkey and it sounded like 
“ Y-a, y-a.” 

In the meantime there was a knock on the door 
and they heard a voice outside saying : “ Open the 
door ! I am the driver of the carriage that brought 
you here. Open quickly, or woe be unto you! ” 




CHAPTER XXXIII 

Seeing that the door did not open, the driver 
gave it a violent kick. It fell and he entered the 
room saying in his usual oily way, “ Good boys! 
You bray very well. I recognize your voices and 
here I am to take you away.” 

At these words the two little donkeys became 
quiet. They lowered their heads and ears and put 
their tails between their legs. 

At first the driver patted them and smoothed their 
hair. After that he pulled out some leather straps 
and bridled them both. When he had curried 
them so that they looked like two looking-glasses, 
174 








PINOCCHIO 


75 


he took them to the square in the hope of selling 
them and making a good trade. 

The purchasers soon made their appearance. 
Lamp Wick was bought by a farmer whose donkey 
had died the day before from overwork. Pinocchio 
was bought by the director of a company of clowns 
and circus men, so that he could be taught to do 
tricks and capers. 

And now, my little readers, do you understand 
what the trade of the driver was ? That monster, 
who had a face of milk and honey, went from time 
to time through the world with a carriage and col¬ 
lected, by promises, all the naughty boys that were 
tired of books and school. After he had filled 
his carriage he took them to the Country of Play¬ 
things, where they passed all the time in playing 
and having fun. When these poor deluded boys 
had played for a certain time they turned into 
donkeys, which he led away and sold in the town. 
By this means he had become very rich, — in fact 
a millionaire. 

What happened finally to Lamp Wick I do not 
know. I know, however, that Pinocchio led a 
very hard and weary life. When he was taken 
to a stall his new master emptied some straw 
into the manger; but Pinocchio, after he had 
eaten a mouthful, spat it out. Then the master, 



76 


PINOCCHIO 


scolding, gave him some hay; but that did not 
please him. 

“ Ah ! You do not like hay ? ” cried the master, 
in anger. “ I will teach you better manners.” 

He then took a whip and gave the donkey a 
crack on the legs. Pinocchio, in great pain, gave 
a long bray, as if to say, “ Y-a, y-a, I cannot 
digest straw.” 

“ Then eat hay,” replied the master, who under¬ 
stood the donkey dialect very well. 

“ Y-a, y-a. Hay gives me a headache.” 

“ You mean that a donkey like you wants to eat 
chicken and capon?” added the master; and he 
gave him another lash with the whip. 

At the second rebuke Pinocchio, for prudence’ 
sake, kept quiet and said nothing. Meanwhile the 
stall was closed and Pinocchio remained alone ; 
and because he had not eaten anything for hours 
he grew very hungry. He opened his mouth and 
was surprised to find that it was so large. 

He finally looked around, and not finding any¬ 
thing in the manger but hay, took a little. After 
having chewed it well he winked his eye and said: 
“ This hay is not bad at all. But how much better 
off I should have been if I had not run away! 
Now I should be eating something nice instead of 
this dry stuff. Oh me ! oh me ! oh me ! ” 




PINOCCHIO 


1 77 


When he awoke the next morning he looked into 
his manger, but he had eaten all the hay. Then 
he took a mouthful of straw and tried that. It did 
not taste so good as rice alia Milanese or mac¬ 
aroni alia Napolitana ; but he managed to eat it. 

“Oh me!” he said while he ate; “oh, if I 
could only warn other boys of my misfortune, how 
happy I should be ! Oh me ! oh me ! ” 

“ Oh me! ” repeated the master, entering the 
stall at that moment. “ Do you think, donkey, 
that I have bought you just to watch you eat and 
drink ? Oh no ! I bought you so that you could 
earn some money for me. Come with me and I 
will teach you how to jump and bow; and then 
you must dance the waltz and the polka and stand 
up on your hind legs.” 

Poor Pinocchio ! He had a hard struggle. It 
took him three months to learn those things and 
he received many a blow from his teacher. 





i7» 


PINOCCHIO 


The day finally came when the master could 
announce to the public a most extraordinary 
spectacle. Posters of all colors were pasted 
everywhere and they read thus: 


GRAND ENTERTAINMENT 

WILL TAKE PLACE TO-NIGHT 

There will be the usual wonderful jumps and most surprising exercises 
Executed by all the Artists 
. And by all the horses of both sexes in the Company 
And more ! ! 

There will be presented for the first time The Famous Donkey 

PINOCCHIO 

Called 

The Dancing Star 
The Theater will be as bright as day 


That night, as you can easily imagine, there was 
not a seat to be had in the house, and all the stand¬ 
ing room was taken an hour before the show began. 
The whole theater swarmed with little children and 
babies of all ages, who were wild to see the famous 
donkey Pinocchio dance. 

When the first part of the performance was over 
the master, in an evening coat, with white trousers 






PINOCCHIO 


79 


and little black boots, presented himself to the 
public and, after making a profound bow, shouted: 

Respected public, ladies and gentlemen, — The humble 
manager of this performance, passing through this great 
metropolis, has told me to say that it is his wish to present 
to this intelligent and honorable audience a celebrated donkey 
that has already had the honor of dancing before His Majesty 
the Emperor at all the principal courts of Europe. 

This discourse was received with much laughter 
and applause; but the applause redoubled and 
became a species of hurricane at the sight of the 
donkey Pinocchio on the stage. He was dressed 
up beautifully. He had a new bridle of shining 
leather with buckles of polished brass ; two white 
camellias tied to his ears ; his mane divided in many 
curls tied with red silk; a large band of gold and 
silver tied around his waist; and his tail interlaced 
with beautiful ribbons of all colors. In fact, he 
was the most gorgeous donkey that ever was seen. 

The master then presented him to the public 
with these words : 

My respected auditors, — I will not take up much of 
your time, but I wish to tell you of the great difficulties I 
encountered in taming and teaching this animal. Observe, 
I pray you, how savagely violent are his eyes. It seemed 
almost impossible that I should be able to train him to 
behave like other domestic animals. All my gentleness was 
received with scorn and I was obliged to talk to him in 



i8o 


PINOCCHIO 


the dialect of the whip. However, I noticed on his head 
this little lump. It is hard to see, but it can be felt very 
easily. According to the medical faculty of Paris this 
would indicate a passion for dancing, and I therefore began 
to teach him the art of using his feet. And now you may 
judge for yourselves whether or not I have succeeded. 

Here the master made another profound bow 
and, turning to Pinocchio, said, “Before going 
through your exercises salute this respected and 
intelligent audience/’ 

Pinocchio, obeying, fell on his knees and stayed 
there until the master cracked his whip and cried, 
“Now walk.” Then the donkey stood up on his 
four feet and began to walk around in a circle. 

“ Now trot.” And Pinocchio began to trot. 

“ Gallop.” And Pinocchio began to gallop. 

“Now full speed.” And Pinocchio ran as hard 
as he could. While he was running the master, 
raising a pistol, fired twice. 

At that sound the donkey, pretending to be hit, 
fell flat on the floor as if he were dead. 

Raising himself in the midst of a shower of 
applause which could be heard for miles, Pinocchio 
looked at the audience. As he looked he saw a 
beautiful lady wearing around her neck a large 
gold chain from which hung a medallion. On the 
medallion was engraved the picture of a marionette. 



PINOCCHIO 


18 


“That is my picture ! That lady is the Fairy ! ” 
said Pinocchio to himself, recognizing her instantly. 
He tried to cry, “ Oh, my Fairy ! oh, my Fairy ! ” 
But instead of these words there came from his 
throat such a braying that everybody laughed, 
especially the boys. 

Then the master, in order to teach him better 
manners than to bray at the audience, gave him a 
blow on the nose with the handle of the whip. 
The poor donkey licked his nose at least a dozen 
times because it pained him so. But what was his 
desperation when, turning around a second time 
and looking toward the Fairy, he found that she 
had disappeared. 

He thought he should die. His eyes filled with 
tears and he began to cry. No one, however, saw 
it, not even the master, who, cracking his whip, cried, 
“Now show the people how well you can dance.” 

Pinocchio tried two or three times; but every 
time he came before the audience his feet slipped 
from under him. Finally, in a great effort, his 
hind foot slipped so badly that he fell to the 
floor in a heap. When he got up he was so lame 
that he could hardly walk and had to be taken to 
his stall. 

« Bring out Pinocchio ! We want the donkey ! 
Bring him out! ” cried the boys in the theater, 




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182 











PINOCCHIO 


183 


who had seen the pitiful sight. But the donkey 
could not be seen any more that night. The next 
morning the veterinary, that is, the doctor of beasts, 
when he saw the poor donkey, declared that he 
would be lame all through life. Then the master 
said to the stable boy: “ What can we do with a 
lame donkey ? To keep him would be feeding one 
more mouth for nothing. Take him to the square 
and sell him.” 

When they arrived at the square they immediately 
found a buyer who asked the price. 

“ Four dollars,” replied the stable boy. 

“ I will give you twenty-five cents for him. Do 
not think that I buy him for hauling. Oh, no; I 
want him to skin. I see that his skin is very hard, 
— just the thing for a drum or a tambourine.” 

Just imagine how Pinocchio felt when he heard 
that he was worth only twenty-five cents ! Then, 
too, to be used as a drum to be beaten upon all 
the time! 

The buyer had hardly paid for him when he 
led him to the top of a cliff on the shore of the 
sea, and, tying a heavy stone around his neck 
and binding his feet together with cords, threw 
him over the edge. 

The donkey, with that heavy weight around his 
neck, sank to the bottom immediately. The buyer, 



184 


PINOCCHIO 


who had one end of the rope in his hands, sat down 
and waited awhile, so that the donkey would have 
time to drown. 






CHAPTER XXXIV 

When the donkey had been under water about 
an hour, the buyer, talking to himself, said : “ Now 
my nice-looking lame donkey ought to be dead by 
this time. I will pull him up and then set to work 
to make a drum.” And he began to pull the rope 
with which he had bound the donkey. He pulled 
and pulled and pulled, until he saw coming out of 
the water — what do you think ? Instead of a 
dead donkey he saw a marionette, alive and kick¬ 
ing, struggling and twisting like an eel. 

Seeing that wooden marionette, the buyer thought 
that he was dreaming; and he stood there astonished, 

185 


PINOCCHIO 


186 


with his mouth open and his eyes nearly out of his 
head. When he found words he said, “ Where is 
the little donkey that I threw overboard ? ” 

“ I am that little donkey,” replied the marionette, 
laughing. 

« You ? ” 

“I.” 

“Ah ! You cheat ! Do you think that you can 
make fun of me ? ” 

“ Make fun of you ? On the contrary, I speak 
to you seriously.” 

“ But how is it that a little while ago you were 
a donkey and now, after you have been in the 
water for an hour, you are a wooden marionette ? ” 

“It is the effect of the sea water. The sea 
never tells its secrets, and this is one of its little 
tricks.” 

“Take care, marionette, take care! Do not 
think that you can pull wool over my eyes. Woe 
to you if I lose my patience ! ” 

“Very well. Do you wish to know the true 
story ? Untie my legs and I will tell you.” 

The buyer, curious to know the true story, 
untied the knots that bound the marionette; and 
then Pinocchio, finding himself as free as a bird 
in the air, said : “ Know, then, that I was at first 
a wooden marionette as I am to-day. But I was 



PINOCCHIO 


187 


on the point of becoming a boy, just like other 
boys, when I listened to the advice of a bad com¬ 
panion, and one morning I awoke and found 
myself turned into a donkey with big ears and a 
beautiful tail. What shame I felt when I saw that 
I had a tail! I was then led to a square where a 
master bought me and taught me to do tricks and 
dance. One night, when I was performing, I fell 
and sprained my leg so badly that I could hardly 
stand on it. Then the master, who did not know 
what to do with a lame donkey, sold me to you.’' 

“ Yes; I paid twenty-five cents for you. But 
who will give me my money back ? ” 

“ Yes ; you bought me and planned to beat me 
by placing my skin over a drum.” 

“ Where shall I find another skin ? ” 

“ There are lots of donkeys left for that.” 

“ Tell me, impertinent scoundrel, is your story 
finished ? ” 

“No,” replied the marionette; “there are a 
few more words, and then I shall be through. 
After you bought me you led me here to kill me; 
but then, being a humane man, you decided to 
drown me. This delicate attention on your part 
is most honorable and I shall always remember 
your goodness. You would.have succeeded if it 
had not been for the good Fairy.” 



i88 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Who is the Fairy ? ” 

“ She is my mamma, who is like all other mammas 
in this world. She liked me and tried to make me 
a good and studious boy. As soon as the good 
Fairy saw me in danger of drowning she sent a 
school of fishes, which, believing that I was really 
dead, began to eat me. And what mouthfuls they 
took ! Some ate my ears; some my neck and 
mane; some the skin on my legs; some the hair 
on my back; and among them there was one big 
fish that ate my tail at one bite. When the fish 
had eaten everything they finally came to the 
bones, — or rather, they came to the wood. Find¬ 
ing that too hard for their teeth, they went away 
and did not even look back to say good-by.” 

“I do not believe your silly story,” said the 
buyer, now very angry. “ I know I have spent 
twenty-five cents and I want my money again. Do 
you know what I will do ? I will carry you back 
to the square and sell you for a piece of kindling 
wood.” 

“All right!” said Pinocchio. Thus saying, he 
jumped into the water and, swimming lightly, drew 
away from the coast, calling to the poor buyer: 
“Good-by, dear sir! If you want a drumhead, 
don’t forget me.” And then he laughed and kept 
on swimming. 



PINOCCHIO 


189 


After a little time he turned around and shouted : 
“ Good-by, dear sir ! If you want a piece of kind¬ 
ling wood, don’t forget me.” 

Almost in the twinkling of an eye he was so far 
away that he could hardly be seen ; that is, one 
could see only a little black point on the water, 
splashing around just like a jolly dolphin. 

Meanwhile, as Pinocchio swam around, he saw 
not very far away a rock which looked like white 
marble. On the top of the rock there was a beau¬ 
tiful Goat that bleated and made a sign to him to 
come nearer. The most singular thing about this 
goat was the color of its wool. It was not white 
or black or any color that other goats have. It was 
blue, just like the hair of the beautiful Baby. 

I will leave you to imagine how the heart of 
Pinocchio began to beat. He redoubled his efforts 
to reach the rock. Already he was halfway there 
when he saw coming out of the water the horrible 
head of a sea monster, with mouth opened wide like 
an abyss and three rows of teeth that would frighten 
you, even to see them painted in a picture book. 

Can you guess who that monster was ? It was 
no other than the huge Dogfish described several 
times in this story. On account of his destructive 
and bloodthirsty nature he was called “The Attila 
of fishes and fishermen.” 



PINOCCHIO 


190 

Imagine the fright of poor Pinocchio at the sight 
of the monster! He sought to avoid him, — to 
change his road. He tried to escape; but that 
immense open mouth came always toward him 
with the velocity of an arrow. 

“Hurry, Pinocchio!” cried the Goat, bleating 
loudly. And Pinocchio swam desperately with his 
arms, with his chest, with his legs, and with his feet. 

“ Hurry, Pinocchio, for the monster approaches 
you!” And Pinocchio, gathering his force, re¬ 
doubled his strokes. 

“Take care ! take care ! He is gaining ! Hurry ! 
Oh, hurry, or you are lost! ” Pinocchio swam 
faster than ever, and away they both raced, going 
as fast as bullet balls. As they approached the 
rock the Goat held out its two front paws to aid 
Pinocchio to land. But — 

It was too late! The monster had been too 
quick. Drawing in a quantity of water, he drank 
Pinocchio just as if’he were sucking an egg. He 
swallowed him with such violence that the mario¬ 
nette arrived at the stomach of the Dogfish with 
such force that he was stunned for a quarter of 
an hour. 

When he regained consciousness after being 
swallowed he did not know where he was. All 
around him was darkness so intense that he 



PINOCCHIO 


9 1 


thought he had put his head into the top of an 
ink bottle. He listened but he heard nothing. 
From time to time he felt a great gust of wind 
striking his face. At first he did not know whence 
that wind came, but afterward he thought it was 
from the lungs of the monster ; for you must know, 
my little readers, that the Dogfish was a great suf¬ 
ferer from asthma, and when he breathed it sounded 
like the north wind. 

At first Pinocchio tried to be brave; but when 
he had tried and then tried again to find an exit 
and found himself still inclosed in the body of the 
monster, he began to cry and to scream : “ Help! 
help! Oh, dear me! Is there no one who can save 
me ? ” 

“ Who wishes to be saved ? ” asked a voice that 
sounded in the darkness like a guitar out of 
tune. 

“ Who is it that speaks like that ? ” asked Pinoc¬ 
chio, feeling himself nearly frozen with fear. 

“It is I. I am a poor Tunny fish, who was 
swallowed at the same time you were. What kind 
of fish are you ? ” 

“ I have nothing to do with fishes. I am a mario¬ 
nette.” 

“Then, if you are not a fish, why were you 
swallowed by the monster?” 



192 


PINOCCHIO 


“ It is all your fault. If you had not been 
around, I surely would have escaped. And now 
what can we do in this dark place ? ” 

“ We must resign ourselves to our fate, and wait 
until we are digested.” 

“ But I do not wish to be digested,” said Pinoc- 
chio, beginning to cry. 








PINOCCHIO 


193 


“Neither do I wish to be digested,” added the 
Tunny; “but I am philosopher enough to console 
myself by thinking that it is more dignified to die 
under water than to be soaking in vinegar and oil.” 

“ Nonsense ! ” cried Pinocchio. 

“It is my opinion,” replied the Tunny; “and 
the opinion of fishes should be respected.” 

“As for me,” said Pinocchio, “I wish to go 
away from here; I want to escape.” 

“ Escape if you can.” 

“Is the Dogfish very large?” asked the mario¬ 
nette. 

“ Why, his body is a mile long without counting 
his tail.” 

In the meantime Pinocchio thought he saw in 
the distance a little glimmer of light. 

“ What can that be ? ” he asked. 

“ Some poor unfortunate that is probably being 
digested.” 

“Well, I am going to see. It may be some old 
fish that can tell me the way to walk around here.” 

“ I wish you good luck, my poor marionette.” 

“Good-by, Tunny.” 

“ Good-by, marionette, and good fortune go with 
you.” 

“ When shall we meet again ? ” 

“ Who knows ? It is better not to think of that.” 




good-by to his friend the Tunny, he moved around, 
groping in the darkness. Walking inside the Dog¬ 
fish, he advanced toward the little light that shone 
so far away. 

As he groped along he felt his feet wading in a 
puddle of greasy, slippery water. The water had 
such a pungent odor of fried fish that he thought 
it must be Lent. 

The more he walked, the clearer and more dis¬ 
tinct became the light, until finally he arrived at 
the end of the passage. What did he find ? I will 
let you guess a thousand times. He found a little 
table all nicely set, and lighted by a candle stuck 
into a green bottle. Seated behind the table he 
saw an old man with snow-white beard and hair, 
who was slowly eating some little live fish. 

At the sight of the poor old man Pinocchio 
became so overjoyed that he nearly lost his senses. 
He wished to laugh ; he wished to cry. He did not 
194 



PINOCCHIO 


95 


know what to do. He finally murmured some joy¬ 
ous sounds, for words stuck in his throat. Giving 
a cry of pleasure, he rushed to the old man, threw 
his arms around his neck, and cried : “ Oh, my dear 
father! At last I have found you! Now I will 
never leave you again, never, never, never! ” 

“ Do my eyes tell me truly ? ” asked the old 
man, rubbing them. “ Do I really see my dear 
Pinocchio ? ” 

“Yes, yes; it is I, truly, Pinocchio! And you 
have already forgiven me, have you not? Oh, my 
papa ! How good you are ! And to think that I — 
Oh, but if you only knew how many things have 
happened to me, — how many troubles and trials ! 
Just imagine, the day you sold your coat for my 
ABC card I ran away from school and met some 
marionettes, and the manager wished to put me on 
the fire so that I could cook some mutton that he 
wanted to eat. He gave me some pieces of gold 
for you; but when I went toward home I met a 
Fox and a Cat, who led me to an inn called the 
Red Lobster, where they ate like wolves. I left 
the inn at night and met assassins who began to 
run after me and finally caught me and hanged 
me to a large oak. Then a beautiful Baby with 
Blue Hair sent a carriage to take me to her house, 
where there were doctors who said if I was not dead 



196 


PINOCCHIO 


it was a sign that I was alive. Then I told a story 
and my nose commenced to grow so that I could 
not pass through the door of the room. After that 
I met the Fox and the Cat, who advised me to put 
the money in the ground and watch it grow. I 
lost it all, for I believed their story. When I told 
the judge of the town he put me in prison for being 
so foolish. After I was set free I walked along a 
road and, feeling hungry, I looked for a bunch of 
grapes ; but I was caught in a trap and a farmer 
took me to his house and made me play dog.. After 
I had caught the Polecats that robbed his hencoop, 
he set me free ; and I met a Serpent with a smoking 
tail, and it laughed so hard that a vein broke in its 
chest and it died. Then I hurried to the house of 
the beautiful Baby, but she had died. Then a Dove, 
seeing me cry, said to me, ‘ I have seen your papa 
making a ship to go and look for you ’ ; and I said, 
‘ Oh ! if I had wings I would fly to him ! ’ And 
the Dove said, ‘ Get on my back ’ ; and away we 
flew all night. The next day, when we arrived at 
the shore, the fishermen, looking toward the sea, 
said to me, ‘ There in that boat is a poor old man 
who will sink ’; for the water was so rough. And 
I ran to a rock and recognized you, because my 
heart told me that you were there ; and I made a 
sign for you to come back to the shore — ” 



PINOCCHIO 


I 9 ; 


“I recognized you also,” said Geppetto, “and 
I would willingly have come back; but how could 
I ? — the sea was so rough and my boat was so 
frail. Then a horrible Dogfish that was near me 
put out its tongue and swallowed me like a pill.” 

“ And how long have you been shut up here ? ” 
asked Pinocchio. 

“Two years, Pinocchio, that seemed like two 
centuries.” 

“ And how have you lived ? And where did you 
find the candle and the matches to light it ? ” 

“ I will tell you all. Fortunately, when the Dog¬ 
fish swallowed me he swallowed also the provisions 
I had on board the ship — ” 

“ What ? He swallowed • all in a mouthful ? ” 
asked Pinocchio, surprised. 

“ All in a mouthful. But he did not like the mast 
of the boat; for that stuck in his teeth like a tooth¬ 
pick and he spat that out. As the boat was loaded 
with preserved meat, figs, biscuits, wine, raisins, cof¬ 
fee, sugar, candles, and matches, I was well supplied. 
To-day, however, I am burning my last candle — ” 

“ And after that ? ” 

“ Why, my dear boy, we shall both be left in the 
dark.” 

“Then, Papa,” said Pinocchio, “there is no time 
to lose. We must hurry and escape.” 



9 8 


PINOCCHIO 


“How?” 

“ Why, we must escape from the mouth of the 
Dogfish and throw ourselves into the sea.” 

“ But I do not know how to swim.” 

“ That does not matter. You can get on my 
back and I will take you to the shore.” 

“You are dreaming, my boy,” said Geppetto, 
shaking his head. 

“Try it and see. Anyway, we shall have the 
consolation of dying together.” 

And without saying any more Pinocchio took 
the candle and started to walk toward the mouth 
of the Dogfish. “ Come along, and do not be afraid, 
Papa,” said Pinocchio. 

And thus they walked along for a little while, 
traversing the whole length of the Dogfish’s 
stomach. When they arrived at the end they 
stopped so as to look carefully before trying to 
escape. 

Now, my little readers, you must know that the 
Dogfish, being very old and suffering from asthma 
and palpitation of the heart, was obliged to sleep 
with his mouth open. Pinocchio, therefore, looking 
up through the throat, saw the starry heavens and 
the light of the moon. 

“This is truly the time to escape,” whispered 
Pinocchio ; “ the Dogfish sleeps and the sea is very 



PINOCCHIO 


199 


smooth. Come, then, Papa. Follow me and we 
shall soon be outside." 

No sooner said than done. They mounted the 
throat of the huge sea monster and, arriving in 
the immense mouth, began to walk on the tips of 
their toes along the tongue. Suddenly the Dog¬ 
fish sneezed. The candle was blown out, and both 
Geppetto and Pinocchio were given a violent shake 
and found themselves back once more in the Dog¬ 
fish’s stomach. 

“ Now we are truly lost," said Geppetto. 

“ Give me your hand, and be careful not to slip." 

“ Where are you leading me ? " 

“Come along and do not be afraid." 

Thus saying, Pinocchio took his papa’s hand and 
again they mounted the throat of the monster, 
always going on tiptoe. Then passing along the 
tongue and the three rows of teeth, they found 
themselves out in the air. 

“ Get on my back," said Pinocchio, “and hold on 
tight." 

Scarcely had Geppetto placed his arms around 
Pinocchio’s neck when the brave marionette began 
to swim. The sea was as smooth as oil, the 
moon was resplendent, and the Dogfish continued 
to sleep so soundly that not even a cannon shot 
would have awakened him. 




200 





































CHAPTER XXXVI 

While Pinocchio swam fast so as to reach the 
beach quickly, he perceived that his papa, who sat 
on his back, trembled just as if he had a high 
fever. Did he tremble from cold or fear ? Who 
knows ? Perhaps a little of both. But Pinocchio, 
believing that he trembled from fear, said to him 
in a comforting tone : “ Courage, Papa ! In a little 
while we shall arrive on the shore safe and sound.” 

4 ‘But where is the shore?” asked the old man, 
becoming more and more uneasy and straining his 
eyes to see it, just as tailors do when they thread 
a needle. “ Here we are, swimming all night; and 
I see only sky and sea.” 

“ But I see the shore,” said the marionette. 
“ Through your skill in making me, I can see in 
the night as well as a cat.” 

Poor Pinocchio pretended to be in good humor; 
but he was really beginning to lose heart. His 
strength was giving out and his breath growing 
201 










202 


PINOCCHIO 


shorter. In fact, he could not swim much longer 
and the shore could not be seen. 

He swam until he had no more breath. Then 
he turned his head toward Geppetto and said in 
broken tones, “ Help me, Papa, or I shall die.” 

The father and the boy were nearly drowned 
when they heard a voice, like a guitar out of tune, 
saying, “ Who is going to die ? ” 

“My papa and I.” 

“I recognize that voice. You are Pinocchio.” 

“ Exactly ; and who are you ? ” 

“ I am Tunny, your companion in the Dogfish’s 
stomach.” 

“ How did you escape ? ” 

“I followed your example. You taught me the 
way; and after I saw you go, I went also.” 

“ Oh, my friend, you have come just in time! 
I pray you, for the love you bear your little tunny 
fishes, to help us, or we are lost.” 

“ With all my heart! Get on my back and in 
a few minutes we shall reach land.” 

As you may easily imagine, Geppetto and Pinoc¬ 
chio quickly accepted the invitation. 

“Are we too heavy ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“Heavy? Why, you are like two shadows. It 
seems to me that I have two small shells on my 
back.” 



PINOCCHIO 


203 


When they arrived at the shore Pinocchio was 
the first to jump down, and he helped his papa. 
Then he turned to the Tunny and, with a voice 
that trembled with emotion, said : “ My friend, you 
have saved my papa and me. I do not know how 
to thank you. Permit me to kiss you as a sign of 
eternal friendship.” 

The Tunny put his nose out of the water, and 
Pinocchio, kneeling on the ground, gave the fish an 
affectionate kiss. At this sign of tenderness the 
poor Tunny, who was not accustomed to such 
kindness, felt himself so moved that he began to 
cry like a baby, and quickly sank into the water 
to hide his tears. 

In the meantime the sun arose. Then Pinocchio, 
offering his arm to his papa, who was very weak, 
said : “ Lean on my arm, dear Papa, and let us go. 
We will walk just as slowly as ants, and when we 
are tired we will rest ourselves.” 

“ And where shall we go ? ” asked Geppetto. 

“ In search of a house where we can get a bit to 
eat and some straw to lie upon.” 

But they had not gone a hundred steps when 
they saw two ugly faces asking for money. They 
were the faces of the Fox and the Cat; but one 
would not have recognized them. Just think ! the 
Cat who feigned to be blind had really become 



204 


PINOCCHIO 


so, and the Fox’s hair was all shaggy and he had 
lost his tail. 

“Oh, Pinocchio,” cried the P'ox, “give a little 
charity to two old people.” 

“Two old people,” repeated the Cat. 

“Good-by, masqueraders,” replied Pinocchio; 
“you deceived me once and now you are paying 
for it.” 



“ Believe us, Pinocchio, we are to-day truly poor 
and starving.” 

“Truly,” repeated the Cat. 

“ If you are poor, you deserve it. Remember the 
proverb that says, ‘ Stolen money will never bear 
fruit.’ Good-by, deceivers! ” 

“ Have compassion on us.” 

“On us,” said the Cat. 

“Good-by. Remember the proverb that says, 
‘ Stolen wheat always makes poor bread.’ ” 




PINOCCHIO 


205 


“Do not abandon us.” 

“ No, no ! ” said the Cat. 

“ Good-by. Remember the proverb, ‘ Whoever 
steals the cloak of his neighbor usually dies without 
a shirt.’ ” 

Geppetto and Pinocchio continued their walk until 
they saw a small farmhouse with a straw roof. 

“That house is inhabited by some one,” said 
Pinocchio. “ Let us go and knock at the door.” 

“Who is there ? ” said a voice inside, when they 
had reached the house. 

“ We are a poor papa and his son, without bread 
or a home,” replied the marionette. 

“ Turn the key and the door will open,” said the 
same voice. 

Pinocchio turned the key and the door opened. 
As soon as they entered the house they looked 
around, but saw no one. “ Where is the master of 
this house ? ” asked Pinocchio, greatly surprised. 

“ Here I am, up here.” 

Papa and son turned quickly and saw on a rafter 
the Talking Cricket. 

“ Oh, my dear Cricket! ” said Pinocchio, saluting 
him politely. 

“ Now you call me your dear Cricket, do you 
not ? Do you remember the time when you struck 
me with a hammer ? ” 



20 6 


PINOCCHIO 


“ Yes, you were right, Cricket. Take a hammer 
and hit me, but spare my poor papa.” 

“ I will have pity on you both ; but I wished to 
remind you of your ugly manners.” 

“ Yes, Cricket, you were right to tell me what 
you did. You were right, and I will bear in mind 
the lessons you have taught me. But tell me, how 
did you build such a nice large house ? ” 

“ This little house was given me yesterday by a 
beautiful Goat that had blue wool.” 

“ And where has the Goat gone ? ” asked Pinoc- 
chio, with lively curiosity. 

“ I do not know.” 

“ And when will it return ? ” 

“Never. Yesterday it went away bleating. I 
thought I heard it say, * Poor Pinocchio ! I shall 
never see him again. The Dogfish has swallowed 
him.’ ” 

“ It said that ? Then it was she. It was the 
beautiful Fairy,” said Pinocchio, and he began to cry. 

When he had cried a long time he dried his eyes 
and prepared a nice bed of straw for his papa. Then 
he said to the Talking Cricket, “Tell me, Cricket, 
where I can find a glass of milk for my poor papa.” 

“ Three fields from here you will see a farmer 
who has cows. Go to him and you will find the 
milk you seek.” 





PINOCCHIO 


207 


Pinocchio ran toward the farmer and said to 
him, “ Will you please give me some milk ? ” 

“How much do you want ? ” 

“ I want a glassful.” 

“ A glass of milk costs one cent. Where is the 
money ? ” 

“ I have nothing,” cried Pinocchio, mortified. 

“If you have no money, I have no milk.” 

“ I am so sorry ! ” said Pinocchio. 

“Wait a minute,” said the farmer; “I think we 
can arrange it. Do you know how to draw water 
from a well ? ” 

“ I can try.” 

“ Well, draw me one hundred bucketfuls and I 
will give you a glass of milk.” 

“All right!” 

Pinocchio worked so hard that when he had, 
finished he was wet with perspiration from head to 
foot. He had never felt so tired in all his life. 

“ I have a little donkey that draws water for me; 
but to-day he is sick, poor thing! ” 

“ May I see him ? ” asked Pinocchio. 

“ Certainly.” 

As soon as Pinocchio saw the donkey he recog¬ 
nized him. “ I think I know that donkey,” said he. 
Speaking to it in the donkey language, he asked, 
“Who are you?” At the question the donkey 



208 


PINOCCHIO 


opened his eyes and replied in the same language, 
“ I am Lamp Wick ; ” then he closed his eyes again. 

“ Oh, my poor Lamp Wick,” said Pinocchio in 
an undertone; and then he took a little hay and 
gave it to him. 

‘‘Why do you take so much interest in a donkey 
that is not worth a cent ? ” asked the farmer. 

“ I will tell you. He was a friend of mine.” 

“ Your friend ? ” 

“Yes; a school companion.” 

“ How is that ? ” asked the farmer, bursting 
into laughter. “You had donkeys for school 
companions ? ” 

The marionette felt so mortified at these words 
that he took the glass of milk and returned to his 
papa. 

, From that day, for five months afterward, Pinoc¬ 
chio continued to get up in the morning at day¬ 
break to draw water for the farmer; and he gained 
only a little milk for his trouble. He was not 
contented with simply doing that ; he learned to 
make straw mats and sold them to buy food for 
his daily wants. Among other things, he made a 
little cart so that he could take his papa out and 
give him a little fresh air. 

In the evenings he practiced reading and writing. 
In fact, he behaved so nicely that his papa was 



PINOCCHIO 


209 


overjoyed. One morning he said to Geppetto : “ I 
am going to market to buy a jacket, a cap, and a 
pair of shoes. When I come back I shall be 
dressed like a real gentleman.’* 

Outside the house he began to run, because he 
was so happy. Suddenly he heard himself called 
by name, and, turning, he saw a beautiful Snail. 

“ Do you not know me ? ” asked the Snail. 



“ It seems to me— It seems to me — ” 

“ Don’t you remember the Snail that lived with 
the beautiful Fairy with the Blue Hair ? ” 

“ I remember all,” cried Pinocchio. ‘‘Tell me 
quickly, where is the beautiful Fairy now?” 

At these words the Snail replied with his usual 
slowness, “ The beautiful Fairy lies ill in a hospital.” 
“ In a hospital ? ” 





210 


PIN0CCHI0 


“ Yes. Wounded by so many misfortunes, she 
is very sick and so poor that she eats only a 
mouthful of bread each day.” 

“ Truly ? Oh, what a blow you have given me ! 
Oh, my poor Fairy, my poor Fairy ! If I had a 
million, I would give it all to you, but I have only 
forty cents, which I was going to use to buy some 
clothes. Take my money, Snail, and carry it quickly 
to the good Fairy.” 

“ And what about your clothes ? ” 

“ What does that matter ? I would sell these 
rags in order to help her. Go, Snail, and in two 
days come back, and I will have some more money 
for her.” 

The Snail began to get excited and ran as if a 
bird were after him. 

When Pinocchio returned home his papa asked 
him, “ Where are your new clothes ? ” 

“ I heard from the Snail that my good P'airy was 
ill in the hospital and so poor that she had no food, 
so I sent her the forty cents.” 

That night, instead of going to bed, Pinocchio 
worked until midnight. Afterward he went to 
bed and slept. And while he slept he thought he 
saw the good Fairy, all beautiful and happy and 
smiling, who, after giving him a kiss, said : “Good 
Pinocchio ! For your good heart I pardon all your 



PINOCCHIO 


211 


misdeeds. Boys that help their parents lovingly in 
their troubles always deserve praise and affection.” 
Just here Pinocchio’s dream ended and he awoke 
with his eyes opened wide. 

Now imagine, little readers, the great surprise of 
Pinocchio, upon waking, to find that he was no longer 
a wooden marionette, but that he had become a 
boy like all the others ! He gave a glance around 
him and, instead of a bed of straw, he saw a room 
beautifully furnished. Jumping down from his bed, 
he found prepared for him a nice new suit, a new 
cap, and a pair of new shoes. 

He had scarcely dressed himself when, like all 
boys who have a new suit, he put his hands into 
his pockets ; and just imagine his surprise when he 
pulled out a small pocketbook of mother-of-pearl, 
on which were written these words: “ The Fairy 
with the Blue Hair returns the forty cents to her 
dear Pinocchio and thanks him with all her heart.” 
Opening the pocketbook, he found, instead of forty 
pennies, forty pieces of gold. 

Afterward he went to look in the looking-glass 
and he did not know himself. He saw no longer the 
reflection of a wooden marionette, but the image 
of a bright and intelligent boy with chestnut hair 
and large bright eyes. Pinocchio was greatly sur¬ 
prised. In the midst of these marvels that happened 



212 


PINOCCHIO 


one after another he did not know whether it was 
all real or whether it was a dream. 

“ Where is my papa ? ” he cried suddenly. Then, 
entering the next room, he found Geppetto well and 
as young as when he first began his profession of 
carving. 

“ What does it all mean, dear Papa ? ” asked 
Pinocchio. 

“It means that you deserve all this beautiful 
house,” said Geppetto. 

“ I deserve it ? Why ? ” 

“Because when bad boys become good, they 
make everything change for the better and make 
the-whole family happy.” 

“ And the old wooden Pinocchio — where is it 
hidden ? ” 

“ There it is,” replied Geppetto, pointing to a 
wooden marionette leaning on a chair with its head 
limp, its arms hanging down, and its legs crossed, 
so that it was a wonder that it could stand at all. 

Pinocchio turned to look at his old self; and 
after he had regarded it a little, he said to himself 
with great satisfaction : “How funny I was when 
I was a marionette! and how happy I am now 
that I have become a real live boy! ” 





























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